Try, Try Again
by DreamWeaver619
Summary: At Nibelheim Sephiroth's soul split in two, one side becoming part of the the lifestream, the other becoming the monster that nearly destroyed the planet. Now the good soul has second chance at life, but must act as a living prison for Jenova's essence.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play.

Author's Note: This is a Collab fic between Vega Sailor and Writer Chica. For those of you who do not know who Writer Chica is you can find her page in my favorite authors section. Go check it out she has some great AU fics! Also for those of you who have been following my other fic "Eye to Eye" this is what has been distracting me from continuing that. Don't I will be getting back to it soon.

Big thanks to AncientlyBroken for beta reading this fic!

Try Try Again: Prologue

Aerith drifted gracefully through the green mists of the Lifestream, keeping a careful eye on the souls that floated past her. This was going to be harder than she had originally thought.

"It's like finding a needle in a haystack." A voice called out, unknowingly echoing her thoughts, and Aerith looked over at the man next to her, his spiky black hair blowing in the breeze of their journey. "A very big haystack." He reiterated. She couldn't help but smile.

"I know it is Zack. But we've got to find him. This is a second chance, a _real_ second chance, for him."

"It could be he doesn't want to be found." Angeal Hewley, floating behind Zack, cautioned his companions, "It's a lot we're asking of him." The three had been called back from the Promised Land for a very special task given by the Planet, because she had sensed danger in their midst. And even though Sephiroth and Jenova HAD been defeated by Cloud, the Geostigma and the attempted advent had shown Gaia several... gaps in her protective system.

Aerith continued to attempt to 'talk' to some of the souls drifting around to get a location on the elusive former General. It was difficult. The souls weren't like the three searching, they drifted unable to move on because they were waiting for someone, as Angeal had for Zack and Zack had for Aerith, or had done great evil or were simply so muddled in the head they weren't ready. Thus they were free to talk or ignore and continue drifting as they chose when approached.

"Well, it wasn't entirely Seph's fault in the first place." Zack pointed out.

"Exactly! That's part of the reason why the Planet wants to do this." Aerith reminded Angeal and Zack as they sped up just a tad, looking for glimpses of jade cat eyes and wispy silver...

"At the _very_ least he may want to make up for telling the love of his life to go rot," Angeal muttered quietly, remembering the last exchange between Sephiroth and Genesis through Zack's eyes. What fools they had been, they could have helped each other and prevented all this. Instead, driven by madness and pride, they had turned their backs on each other, only discover that alone they were weak.

"Cloud could use an apology, at the very least." Aerith felt the need to add.

"Yeah!" Zack chimed in more cheerfully. "Cloud can have his hero back... kinda."

"We can only hope," Aerith said interlacing her hand with his and giving it a gentle squeeze. Just then Angeal's sharp eyes caught a wisp of silver off to his right.

"There!"

"Where?" Zack peered in the direction Angeal indicated not quite seeing what the older man saw. "Are you sure it's not one of those remnant kids?"

"It's him." Angeal said definitively, making his way towards his friend. "Aerith, how do I pull him out?"

Aerith immediately leaped in, though having had no connection to Sephiroth in life she could actually _do_ very little, "Focus! Grab him like he was falling and just pull!"

With a single nod Angeal floated towards his friend, concentrating as hard as he was able. "Sephiroth... Snowball..." He called out with his mind reaching out his hand as he had done for Zack at the moment of his death.

"C'mon Seph." Zack called out too.

Something stirred.

The former hero and general slowly opened his eyes. He had been dreaming, a dream that kept replaying itself over and over again since the destruction of his physical body and any connections he had to the physical world, whether through Jenova or the blood craving, fanatical half of his own soul. He could always see through their eyes even though he had no control, but their eyes had been shut and now his were open.

He could see familiar faces hovering above him. Smiling at him, welcoming him, not haunting him with accusatory looks, or pleading ones as if to ask why he was not stronger, or happy ones that would smile for a moment then fade into despair. He waited, knowing that this was a trick.

So he continued to wait. Moments passed and the faces stayed the same, their looks of concern were genuine, he decided. It was impossible. It couldn't be….

No, this was real. The hands that reached for him were warm, familiar, ones that had reached for him many times before, during battles, missions and even when nightmares had troubled him in his real life. He wanted that warmth of reality again so terribly it was a pain greater than anything he had ever experienced. So he reached out and took their hands, daring to hope it would bring release.

He suddenly found himself there, things the same as they had been when he was still alive. Same look, same clothes, same people...except one.

"Wakey-Wakey!" Zack suddenly popped into his field of view, startling him, just a little. Before he would have found such an act to be of the greatest annoyance, but now it was a comfort simply by its familiarity.

Sephiroth blinked a few times still a little dazed from his sudden awakening. "Where...? No I know where I am, but how am I here, I mean this spot this moment? Before I was... drifting?"

His answer came in the form of Aerith's soft voice, "You were. But we had something important to talk to you about." When the jade cat eyes snapped to her, Aerith offered him a genial smile and a cheerful, "Hello Sephiroth!" He was amazed she had come, after all it was his face that had killed her and ended the Cetra forever...

"Yeah souls tend to do that until they've got everything sorted out in their heads and they're at peace with themselves. Unfortunately we didn't have time to wait that long." Zack informed the former as the group gathered a little closer together. "The Planet needs your help, Sephiroth and wants to help you in the process."

This got bitter laugh from the man in question. "I? I am the one that led it to near destruction."

"Gaia knows that... what you discovered in the reactor after loosing Angeal and Genesis, your roots to your humanity, finally pushed you over the edge after decades of being too close, and Jenova took advantage of that, of _you_." Aerith rejoined gently. They had known going in that it would be a difficult task to convince him to do this. To go back.

"I should have been stronger...", a statement, he had expected more of himself.

"The same could be said of me and… Genesis." Sephiroth couldn't help the relieved smile, or the twinge of guilt directed at Angeal. Yet he was grateful that at least one soul understood.

"She's a part of your genes, Seph, in your very blood." Zack reminded the General, "Her call was bound to catch up to you sooner or later."

"Your father's blood protected you for a long time,"Aerith spoke up, wanting that fact acknowledged, "Long enough to become... well, Sephiroth. To meet a soul-mate." Because Sephiroth's true father was beyond a doubt, human at the time of conception, that part of him had indeed quieted Jenova. One of the reason's why Hojo had made sure to pump his creation full of more Jenova's cells, no doubt.

"My father... my _real_ father…. I don't even know him. No one here has clear memories of him and my head was already too full..."

"Well if you go back you'll get to meet him face to face!" Zack told him, which immediately earned the ex-SOLDIER silencing looks from the other two. Sephiroth and his father were to find out in their own time. Not used as a bribe. Thankfully, Sephiroth fixed on the more relevant part.

"Go... back?"

"Yes!" Aerith clapped her hands excitedly. "You see, just like Jenova couldn't destroy your human half without destroying _her_ half, Gaia couldn't take away the part of you that was linked to Jenova. So, when you died in the reactor the planet split your soul in two, sending the other half and Jenova's essence away to protect... you and herself."

"Unfortunately though," Angeal continued more solemnly, "it also meant Jenova's essence and the psycho side of you were loose in the Lifestream."

"Hence Geostigma, and the attempted Advent." Zack explained.

It was a little bit before Sephiroth spoke, allowing this new information to sink in, murmuring more to himself then the others, "And that's how even though I was here, I could still see through his eyes, but not control..." then he shook his head, "But if I am split from him and her, what is my connection to all of this? I'm dead, I have no more influence than any of the other souls, _he_ had all of the power."

"But you had all of the brains, notice without you there he was defeated by the same attack. Twice." Angeal pointed out, Aerith and Zack nodded in agreement.

"And as long as you're a soul like us, you WON'T be able to do anything." Zack said.

"If that is so then what was the point of awakening me?" Sephiroth asked them, and Angeal answered.

"When the other you was brought back through your remnant, the essence of Jenova in the Lifestream went with him."

"Allowing me to cure the Geostigma." Aerith stated simply.

"But now that he is dead, Jenova's essence has returned to the Lifestream." Sephiroth could see it clearly now.

"Right, which means it's only a matter of time till another attempt for world destruction. Except Seph, the Planet has one last trick up her sleeve." Zack said with his trademark grin. Gaia, as any loving mother must do, gave up much of her power in order to let her children grow and live on the physical plane... but in the Lifestream, her power was supreme.

"When you were alive, just like the other you during the Advent, you were a container for that essence of Jenova. And simply ejecting the bad side of you wouldn't work because Cloud would just have to kill him and we'd be right back where we stared." Aerith said.

"With your permission, Gaia wants to send both of you back, in your body." Angeal finally concluded.

Sephiroth stood there stoically, dumbfounded at this development, as a mixture of emotions ran through his head. Suddenly he let out a bitter laugh, "How ironic... My biological mother used me for her experiment and left me in the hands of a madman. My genetic donor mother used me to free herself from prison and to reap vengeance and bring about the end of the world. And now mother Planet wants to use me as a living prison for her enemy. So that I will once again live a life tormented by voices in my head. Fighting a constant never ending battle to keep my own identity." This little speech made Aerith wince and Angeal and Zack adopt rather uncomfortable looks... because on the surface Sephiroth was absolutely right.

"Suppose I fail again?" The former general posed in the face of the silence, "What if my soul is not split free this time? I could be assimilated into that monster forever..."

"There's a great difference between then and now." Angeal reminded him.

"This time, you won't be enduring this alone." Aerith added.

"And you'll know what and where the enemy is." Angeal said, eyes boring into Sephiroth, then very gently. "Are you really completely at peace here?"

"There isn't anything, or anyone, you don't have regrets about?" Zack prodded. And Sephiroth thought about it.

He remembered always wanting to ask his mother why she had left him to Hojo, his desire to meet his real father, not in battle, but sane man to sane man. These were more questions than regrets. Then there was Cloud. Poor boy had once viewed him as a hero, and that dream had been shattered in the worst way possible. And then he pictured sapphire eyes and fiery auburn hair. How many times had he wished to hold _him_ in his arms just once more? Genesis. If he had a chance...

As if sensing his thoughts, Aerith spoke gently, "They're waiting for you."

"Especially your Songbird." Angeal said with a small smile.

Sephiroth only closed his eyes sadly. "If I were sure I would have him back as we once were, I would go back without a second thought, even while harboring the monsters. But he'll want no part of me now. And I think I might break if I ever saw hatred in those eyes toward me, even if … even if I was the one to blame."

"Seph, Genesis always loved you, he still does." Angeal returned, prompting Zack and Aerith to be silent and allow Angeal to handle this.

"I told him…," Sephiroth looked away. Ashamed to even look at his friend, his brother in the eye."He needed my help and I walked away. My last words to him were a rebuke."

"I know..." Angeal said softly, putting a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. He had watched it all from the Lifestream, and he had to admit even though he no longer had a physical body he had felt his blood turn cold at the things Sephiroth and Genesis had said to one another that final day. But then neither of them were in their right minds either. "But I also know you didn't mean it."

"I did mean it," Sephiroth said darkly after a short pause. "I wanted to hurt him. For being weak, for walking away."

"Do you still mean it?" Angeal asked.

"No..." Sephiroth said in earnest. "I know now how sick he really was, how sick _ I_ was. If only... If you had been there to soften the blow..." Here the fallen warrior managed a slight smile, "Play peace maker like you used to."

Angeal swallowed hard. "I saw it from here. I wanted so badly to do just that but I just.. it wasn't possible."

When they fell silent Zack jumped in, knowing if left to brood, Sephiroth would definitely refuse. "Think about it, Seph. ShinRa, Hojo... they're gone. Dead or powerless now, you'd be free."

"Free..." The pale face brightened a little, but then logic kicked back in, "But how would I live? I know nothing beyond ShinRa, and I am the world's worst enemy."

"That's not something we can help you with, you have to do it on your own." Angeal's voice had a tinge of regret to it. But Gaia had been very clear about it. For this to work, Sephiroth had to forge his own decisions, to trust himself.

"And for all it's evils, you did get a world class education with ShinRa." Zack encouraged.

"And if you fall under Cloud's protection, who's going to question the hero who saved the world?" Aerith posed to the group.

"Twice!" Zack threw in for good measure.

Angeal hummed his agreement, "And if the hero can forgive his enemy, perhaps the civilians can too."

"Not saying it'll be easy, or pleasant at first." Zack cautioned, remembering the struggle of adjusting to things after loosing four years during the time between his escape and death, "But if anyone can do it Seph…"

"Everything you've ever wanted, dreamed of Snowball. It's right at your fingertips." Angeal said. He could not, WOULD not let his friend waste this chance! Who else on Gaia got it? A chance to redo your life?

Sephiroth, for his part, closed his eyes, visions of Genesis echoing through the corridors of his mind. Just a chance to have his love in his arms once more. His heart leapt with cautious hope. He opened his eyes to eager but nervous expressions.

"Alright, I accept." It was met with Aerith's gentle smile, and Zack's whoop of delight, as well as Angeal's nod of approval, "though I think convincing Cloud to protect me may be an insurmountable task, I was never particularly good at … asking for help."

"Leave that to me and Zack." Aerith said with determination.

"We'll butter him up good," Zack grinned and nudged Aerith who couldn't help but giggle in return, before he looked pointedly over at Sephiroth. "When you find him Seph, be sincere. That's something Cloud'll trust and stay his hand more then any pretty words."

Sephiroth only smirked back. "Zack... When have you known me to be anything but brutally honest?"

Zack grinned impishly, but held his tongue.

"I never thought I would say this but you may puppy glomp me if you like."

"Seriously?" Zack gasped, shocked. He'd tried many many times to give Sephiroth one of his famous glomps, but Sephiroth always refused or, when Zack had resorted to sneakiness, thwarted the attempts. But now...

"I have come to miss the familiarity of it, a memory of better days." Zack didn't need to be told twice, and promptly tackle-hugged the man, absolutely gleeful, while Aerith and Angeal smiled, touched by the scene. The small hug back was just a Dumb-apple right on top!

Aerith allowed them a minute to let go of each other, quickly brushing away a tear, "Zack and I should get ready for Cloud, " a finger raised and pointed at Zack, "You, prepare to puppy-pout him like you've never puppy-pouted anyone before."

"I think it will take all of Zack's puppy power's of persuasion for this occasion," Angeal said dryly.

"I'll do my best," Zack put on a confident grin.

"So how do we go about this?" Sephiroth asked.

"Leave Cloud to us," Aerith said firmly. "In the meantime you need to find that other half of you so Gaia can fuse you together. When you find him don't go near him just keep tabs until Gaia has things ready, right now the Lifestream is working on a new physical body for you replicating exactly how it was before you were lost at Nibelheim."

Sephiroth nodded looking determined. "I will do so."

Aerith's gentle sunshine smile returned. "I'm sorry I never got to meet you, before. Zack always spoke highly of you." She reached out and gave Sephiroth's hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry even though you'll be by yourself, you won't be alone. We'll be watching out for you."

Sephiroth offered a small smile back. "I am also sorry we did not meet prior to this. Zack always spoke very highly of you too. On behalf of my darker self I apologize for your death, I hope it was not too painful."

There was a flicker of sadness that crossed Aerith's face, though her smile never faltered, "Thank you, but it's not necessary. And don't worry, it didn't hurt, it was so fast and my back was to... him."

"At least Masamune gave you that mercy. The last shred of me, my death blows were always swift." Sephiroth said soberly...

"Yeah, I knew there was something definitely wrong with you when your first strike didn't kill me back there," Zack said with a cheeky grin hoping to break up the somber mood that had suddenly settled over them.

"Puppy..." Angeal said, tone slightly scolding, but that just made Aerith laugh helplessly and Sephiroth smile in fond remembrance, thus making Zack successful.

"I shall miss this when I am alive again."

"Don't worry, Cloud and his crew are a pretty colorful bunch, once you gel with them there will be plenty of smiles." Zack grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "And like she said, we'll be watchin' ya from up here, so do good my friend!"

Suddenly strands of green began to swirl around Zack and Aerith.

"Time to get things rollin'" Zack said as he looked down at his slowly fading form. "Good luck Sephiroth!"

"Nice meeting you," Aerith blew him a kiss. And with that they faded into the Lifestream, leaving Angeal and Sephiroth to say their own final words.

"It was good to see you again Snowball," Angeal said with a gentle smile, but couldn't hold his gaze for too long, looking away he sighed heavily. "I am sorry things turned out this way."

"Who would have pictured this tragedy all those years ago..." Sephiroth heaved a remorseful sigh of his own. "Maybe I shouldn't have let Genesis go on that last mission to Wutai..., who would have thought one decision could affect everything so greatly."

"Perhaps..."Angeal said looking back at his friend. "Or maybe it would've only delayed things a little. Strange to think... one selfish decision on our mothers' part, then one misbegotten choice on ours..." He shook his head the look of regret leaving his face with it. "Well, let the past rest. I trust you and Songbird to make the best of the future. Because if you don't," He wagged his finger at Sephiroth as if he were talking to a 16 year old Zack, " dead or not, I will come back and give you two such a smacking and 'pride and dreams' speech..."

Sephiroth smiled softly at the familiar gesture. "I shall take comfort knowing you are watching over me."

With that Angeal squared his shoulders putting on his battle ready face, hoping to trigger Sephiroth's old SOLDIER instincts for diving right into the unknown without fear. Sephiroth responded in kind by straightening up looking once more like the noble general he had once been to so many.

"Walk with pride, speak with honor and never forget..." He said putting his hands on Sephiroth's shoulders, touching Sephiroth's forehead with his own in an ancient gesture of farewell. His form began to fade, just as Zack and Aerith had done.

"Forget?" Sephiroth looked at him questioningly.

"Your dreams." Angeal finished with a smile, as he faded into small strands of green life.

Chica's Chatter: Hey all! Will Aerith and Zack be successful? Will Zack's puppy powers be enough to lull Cloud into taking on this 'mission' with his (former) archnemesis? Tune in for next time!

Vega's Ventings: So excited! oor Cloud though he always gets picked to do things he really doesn't want to do.

Chica's Chatter: Yeah he and Sephiroth kind of have that common.


	2. Field of Endless Flowers

Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play.

000

Try Try Again 1

Cloud settled himself into one of the chairs on the ferry, drawing a tattered blanket that had clearly seen better days closer to his person. He'd forgotten how far the trek was to Icicle Inn when not flying on the Highwind, but though Fenrir was fast and sturdy, it could not cross mountains in a single bound. Had the customer not been a the friend of one of Tifa's usual patrons or, had they not offered four times the normal fee to bring a package to the resort town, he'd have refused the job until Cid could take him. But the kids, now both vibrant, happy and vivacious, needed clothes and school was expensive, plus there was gas for Fenrir, bar supplies, endless bills. Being a mercenary had sure paid better than delivery boy. He would never have believed that living a normal life could cost so much.

So, with his beloved motorcycle safely secured in the automobile area Cloud decided to get some much needed shut eye while he had the chance. He hadn't been sleeping very well lately, an uneasy feeling that something was about to happen permeated every thought making sleep difficult. He simply couldn't shake it, and for good reason. The last time this happened, the Remnants had shown up two days later and tried to recreate the nightmare all over again. The only thing that made him calm enough to sleep at all was the feel of Tifa's soft, warm body against his. If only she was here now. He gathered that thought close and settled further into his seat. Slowly his eyes drifted shut with the image of her warm smile, bright wine-colored eyes and dark tresses lulling him into an uneasy slumber...

The sweet scent of flowers filled his nose. He opened his eyes and he found himself in an endless field of them. In the distance he could hear the faint tinkling sounds of laughter. He smiled fondly and stood up. "What have you to teach me this time?"

From out of nowhere Zack appeared with a hearty laugh, "Not so much teach, but ask a big favor of you."

"And it's bigger than any other favor you've been asked before Cloud." Aerith said appearing beside Zack, face serene and happy.

Cloud smiled fondly. "For you guys, anything."

Aerith and Zack exchanged slightly guilty looks at what they were about force on their unsuspecting friend.

"Umm..." Aerith began, but wasn't quite sure how to continue

Zack nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, well... You might want to sit down for this one Spikey."

"Go ahead and sit on the flowers! You won't hurt these ones." Aerith encouraged, eyes twinkling merrily. Cloud did so, though that sense of foreboding was now shooting off flares of warning and his hands were twitching for First Tsurugi.

"Okay let me put it this way," Zack said, deciding to start with important fact number one, "The Planet is worried about the essence of Jenova that's still lingering around in the Lifestream."

"So She's decided to seal it inside a living body once again." Aerith hastily interjected. Cloud's reaction was instant and involuntary. His eyes widened and his breath speed up, leaping to his feet Cloud backed up about a foot.

"No no no no! Not you Cloud!" Aerith rushed to reassure him.

"It's someone else who's had a lot of experience with Jenova, and we need you to look after that someone, he's gonna need all the help and support he can get." Cloud was glad it wasn't him and felt himself relax a little bit, but only a little.

"Of course. Yeah. I don't want another Sephiroth running around." Cloud offered, attempting to be reassuring... but the look Aerith and Zack exchanged was anything BUT reassuring.

"Yeah... About that..." Zack said hesitantly as Aerith unconsciously bit her lower lip.

"Cloud, who else has his kind of experience dealing with Jenova? And we're not talking about psycho-out-for-blood Sephiroth! Well, not _just_ him. The good side, the side you and everyone else in the world admired, will be there too."

Cloud felt as if both Zack and Aerith had just pulled the floor out from under him. Sephiroth coming back? And by the will of the Planet? He thought he might be sick, could you be sick here?

"No! We finally got rid of him and now the Planet is going to bring him back!"

"There's no one else Cloud." Aerith's gentle but firm rebuff.

"He, the real Seph, deserves this chance-." Zack told his friend

"He deserves to rot along with Jenova...!" Cloud growled turning away from both of them, hands balled into tight fists.

Aerith merely rematerialized in front of him, "You said the same thing about yourself for what happened to me. You were wrong then and you're wrong now."

"That's different, He was manipulating me even then, making me believe..." Cloud shook his head, "I've come to terms with it. I didn't stop him, but he was the one that actually dropped the blade on you in the first place."

"His story and mine... aren't so different." Aerith pointed out softly, "He and I were marked practically from birth because we belonged to something other than human. We spent our childhoods as Hojo's specimens."

"But you-"

"Cloud." It was amazing the power a gentle tone could carry, "My cage was bigger than Sephiroth's, a little more gilded... but it was _still_ a cage. The Turks watched me to make sure I never left Midgar, and there was the threat of being dragged back to Hojo or Mom getting hurt or worse if I showed my powers too much or expressed too big an interest in the Ancients."

"You remember the first time you met Sephiroth? Face to face, I mean" Zack asked.

Cloud froze, looking to the world a statue, except that his hands continued to shake. He swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut. He remembered all too clearly, one of the few perfectly clear memories he had. He remembered how his heart fluttered with awe and excitement as his idol entered the room, and how he became light headed when Sephiroth smiled at him and said his name. How could such happy feelings be so intertwined with despair? How could the person he had admired so much, become the thing he loathed most in the world. "Yes I remember..." He whispered. He shook his head and his face hardened once again. "I remember, he was just one big fake, just like everything else in ShinRa, pretending to be the good guy while sucking the life out of the people around them. Just like... just like my own stupid dreams back then..."

Zack winced. "Kinda harsh Cloud..."

"Cloud you spent only four years under Hojo..." Aerith spoke up. "Sephiroth spent his entire life as that madman's favorite specimen. Now_ I_ had my mother to help me, to love me and then Elmyra who treated me with as much love as any mother for a daughter. Sephiroth had no one. He had to bear it all alone."

"He had a heart deep down too. Angeal and Genesis managed to bring it out of him." Zack added. "And when they went AWOL, he refused to take part in the mission that lead to the destruction of their hometown."

"He destroyed mine easily enough." Cloud spat.

Zack let out a frustrated breath. "That was _after_ Jenova got into his head. By Nibelheim he'd taken too many blows to the heart; I mean he'd lost one of his best friends, and the love of his life had gone crazy and called him a monster, that when he found out all the things Hojo and ShinRa had done to him, that his whole life had been a lie, it was finally too much for him. You, more than anyone, knows how strong Jenova's influence is, even strong souls have a hard time keeping her out. How would a broken one have managed? Not to mention his other personality waiting under the surface."

"Yeah like an untreated schizophrenic." Aerith added.

"I think Seph was multiple personality, Schizophrenics were the ones that were paranoid and talked to themselves, Sephiroth became another person completely." Zack said getting side tracked.

"You're saying Sepiroth wasn't paranoid before Jenova?" Aerith asked, genuinely curious and a bit surprised.

"Only towards the end, when he didn't have Angeal and Genesis as a security blanket." Zack said. "Can you blame the guy though? With all the Wutain assassins trying to bump him off? Not to mention other crazy people who want to nail a celebrity."

Cloud finally turned around to face them. This little tidbit about Sephiroth he had not known. "You mean he's two people?"

"It... makes sense actually." Aerith said, the idea Zack had suggested percolating in her brain until it's rightness seemed blatantly obvious, though missed by everyone except Zack it seemed, and she offered him a proud look, "Brilliant Zack!"

Zack puffed up a little with pride at his amateur diagnosis.

Cloud's eyebrows shot up, as he realized something. "You've talked to him?"

"The Planet wouldn't just shove him out of the Lifestream! He had to agree to this first." Aerith replied steadily. Free Will, the most basic of laws applied to all, even Sephiroth.

"And the Planet wants me to take care of him..." Cloud said flatly. Cloud lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes. His fists still clenched as his whole body began to tremble, not so much from anger, he could understand the Planet's reasoning, he was the only one on the planet strong enough to control Sephiroth if he snapped again, but the frustration and sorrow were almost too much to bear.

"It's not fair... I was finally free."

"Oh Cloud." Aerith murmured, turning sympathetic, taking his face in her translucent hands.

"C'mmon Cloud," Zack said, "You're not going to be an indentured servant here, you're just helping Sephiroth get back on his feet, the same way Tifa and AVALANCHE helped you."

Cloud let out a reluctant sigh, pulling away from Aerith as he turned away again. "Whether his personality was different or not, he'll still look the same, everything about him is a reminder of what I lost. Both of you, my mother, my hometown, my dreams and..." He felt his breath catch in his throat at the memory of finding Tifa lying on the floor of the Nibelheim reactor with a large gash from Masamune spilling her precious life's blood all over the unforgiving concrete. "I almost lost Tifa..."

Zack rubbed the back of his head, acknowledging the truth of his statement, "For what it's worth, Sephiroth's coming to you now, having lost everything too." Aerith nodded her agreement.

"All he knew was ShinRa and the life they forced on him, SOLDIER was the closest thing to a family he had." Aerith reminded Cloud, remembering Zack's stories, "And for what it's worth... if he'd wanted to kill Tifa, he would've."

"I don't... I don't know... I don't know what to do!" Cloud said desperately. He raked his fingers through his unruly spikes. He sighed. "I'll have to talk to him first." Cloud said softly keeping his head lowered, unable to meet their eyes. He just could not picture a broken Sephiroth feeling as empty as he did once. "I don't know if I can forgive him, and I can't in good conscience promise to help him."

"Talk to him then." Aerith pleaded, "Really listen to him, and not just with your ears."

"Yeah, just hear him out Spikey, that's all we're asking." Zack added.

Cloud remained silent, as much as he didn't like the idea he just couldn't say no to them. Finally he nodded slowly. "All right... For you, I will try."

Aerith beamed at him at him before giving him a big hug. "Thank you, Cloud!"

"You won't regret it Spikey!" Zack ruffled Cloud's hair like he used to do. Cloud smiled softly and shook his head, Zack would never change.

Suddenly there was a soft rustle of air. Both Zack and Aerith looked up at the sky before looking back at Cloud.

"We have to go now... take care Cloud!" Aerith said giving him another squeeze.

Cloud looked at them and smiled tiredly. "I'll try."

With another wisp of air they faded into strands of green and floated into the endless sky.

Cloud opened his eyes and found himself once again on the ferry with no flowers anywhere to be seen, but his nose was still full of the sweet scent of spring.

Some distance away.

Jade eyes opened to the light of day, blinking uncertainly in the harsh light of the sun. A body clad in black leather uncurled itself from its fetal position and stretched carefully. Newly created limbs were tried for the first time, toes wiggled and fingers flexed. A gentle breeze stirred as he rose to his feet, swirling tendrils of long silver hair.

With his boots pointed towards the Forgotten City, like an infant child, Sephiroth took his first steps in his new life...

000

_Author Note:_

_Sephiroth & Cloud: Why me?_

_Chica: Who else is gonna do it?_

_Vega: Seriously guys!_

_Chica: You want to sit around bored?_

_Cloud: Yes._

_Chica: Cloud, c'mmon. I've cos-played you enough to know you'd shrivel up into a little hole if you did nothing._

_Cloud: ... damn cosplaying fangirls._

_Vega *points to Seph*: And let's not even get into what happens when your mind is free to wander._

_Seph: ... I take exception to that._


	3. The Forgotten City

Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play.

Note: There has been much debate as to Sephiroth's exact height. Some have said he's taller than 6'5" due to it being stated in Crisis Core that Zack is 6'3" and Seph is taller. However, in the Ultima guide it states that Cloud is 5'7" and Seph is 6'1" which seems to be a more appropriate height ratio for the two of them so we're going to go with that in the story.

Try Try Again 2

00000

"Such fast service thank you very much!" Cried the very happy customer of Strife Delivery Service. A rather fatigued Cloud handed over the package with a vague smile. All he wanted right now was to call home and see if the family he and Tifa had super-glued together was alright. But first he needed to get paid.

"Say you look familiar," the customer said thoughtfully, studying Cloud a little closer as he counted out the appropriate Gil. "Were you on the news anytime recently?"

Cloud put on the best genial smile he could manage as the payment was placed in his hand, praying the man wouldn't recognize him. He was too tired to deal with a gushing fan for the hero who saved Midgar, and the world (twice) for that matter.

"Yeah I get that a lot." Cloud replied quietly. Home was calling him, between the long trip here and the dream last night... but his brain refused to let him rest. "Has there been anything strange going on lately?"

"Well, now that you mention it, there was a bright light coming from near the Bone Village," The customer said thoughtfully. "People went to investigate and found nothing disturbed except a small crater. Odd thing though the light seemed to come from the ground. "

"From the... ground?" Cloud's eyes widened in disbelief. Then he added, trying not to sound too interested, "Were there scorch marks at all? Signs that the rock had been sliced through?"

The other man shook his head. "No, just a perfect circle. That's all I know."

The dream flashed through Cloud's head again. He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Strange... yeah." After a pause he made ready to go, knowing that investigating this strange occurrence would make him a day late.

"Thank you again for using Strife Delivery service," He waved to the customer before getting on to Fenrir and pulling out his PHS. "Hey Tifa... I've gotta look into something, I'll be back tomorrow okay? Yeah... love you too."

With that he revved up Fenrir and took off toward the Forgotten City.

0000

Sephiroth lay resting inside a cavern.

Being born again was quite exhausting not to mention he was waging a war inside his own head. If Cloud had had any doubts about Zack's suggestion of Multiple Personality Disorder... he would have been convinced had he heard the conversation Sephiroth was having with... himself.

_"Mother would have made us masters of this __pathetic__ planet... instead of giving us up to the monsters in that lab."_ His darker side hissed, the side that had almost destroyed the world not one year past.

"She got us killed...twice." Sephiroth answered flatly.  
_  
"These humans have done nothing but torture us and use our power for their own __ends__!"_

"Not all of them. Zack didn't. Nor did Angeal or... Genesis. Mother used us just as much as ShinRa did, she only had her own vengeance in mind. She didn't care about us at all."

And then there was silence. His darker side had no answer, so for the moment he had won, as much as you can win in a battle against yourself. As tiring as it was for him to fight, it was even more exhausting for his more psychotic side to pick one.

Then, as if heralded by their conversation... there came the sound of a motorized engine on the approach, followed by the faint metal squeal of breaks.

Sephiroth peered out of the cavern's entrance at the motorcycle and the figure dismounting it. Only one glance at that bright blonde hair told him who it was.

Cloud.

He let out a deep breath and rested his forehead against Masamune. "Well old friend we meet our fate. Unfortunately, you cannot help me with this one." The blade said nothing, for which he was grateful.

Cloud stood silent for a moment, sparing a brief thought of _for you two_, before taking First Tsurugi in hand and looking around. The crater, while not huge, was obvious enough, and about the size for a fully gorwn man to lay in if he was curled into a fetal position. There were flowers surrounding the edge. Not Aerith's flowers, but still both strange and beautiful. They were tall with white and purple flowers, shaped like a narrow bell growing in a row on the stem. Their name was familiar, but he didn't remember.

Sephiroth stepped out into the light, purposefully making his steps loud and himself perfectly visible. An action that went against every thing he had been trained for as a warrior regarding stealth and surprise when approaching a possible hostile. However, this meeting was one of diplomacy, not a fight, at least he was not intending to engage in combat, it would depend on Cloud's actions. Hopefully Aerith and Zack had done their work well.

"Cloud." He called out softly, trusting in Mako enhanced hearing to make up for the distance.

Cloud had been distracted by the flowers for a second, which he suddenly realized were called foxgloves. His hand was still tight on his sword, tensing slightly when he heard approaching footsteps. At the mention of his name, he and his sword whipped around. At the actual sight of Sephiroth, his blood turned cold and he didn't try to stop the growl that came from his throat. His sword was poised to strike...

But he didn't attack. Yet.

They stood in silence for awhile, each waiting for the other to make the first move. At Cloud's continued silence Sephiroth made a decision. He was apprehensive, Angeal and Genesis had always been better at diplomacy. Genesis could charm his way out of anything.

"I have not been brought back for a fight." He said calmly.

It happened slowly, inch by careful inch, Cloud lowered his sword. To his surprise he wasn't looking into the eyes of the monster he hated. There was no smug cruelty or twisted smirk of someone satisfied with the misery of others. The ruthless one, the one who'd taken his town, his mother, and very nearly the love of his life, the man who'd landed Zack and him in Hojo's clutches, was curiously absent. Mercifully gone.

This face was calm and blank, and the eyes were serious and indifferent. The signature look of cold professionalism. This was the commander Cloud had admired when he was a boy. The hero he'd worshipped so long ago, yet behind the cold look of indifference were scars of sadness that the impenetrable mask of 'The General' could no longer hide. His hero was broken, like himself. He had been so hoping it was just a dream_. Damn it all_!

"Then why have you come back? To haunt me? To remind me of dreams turned to ash and blood?"

Sephiroth hesitated before answering. True he had known of the trials and tribulations Jenova and his other side had caused for Cloud, but to see it so clearly written on his face, the pain and suffering, the loss, the wounds that may never heal. He was a little taken back at how much damage he had unwittingly done in his decision to surrender to his darker half that fateful day in Nibelheim.

Still, the best course, at this point in time was to keep things calm and formal. "I was sent back by the Planet to have another chance at having my own life"

Cloud had the peculiar sensation of swallowing glass as he muttered, "Meaning she's still inside of you."

"Yes." Sephiroth said flatly. "I am a living prison for her. It was the Planet's only way to trap what was left of her essence and keep it from continuing to contaminate the lifestream."

Again, glass. Sharp glass, at that. But there was truth, and the words were sincere enough. He made a great show planting First Tsurugi into the ground. If it wasn't just a dream... then he knew what was needed of him. Cloud also knew Tifa was going to kill, if not castrate him first, for bringing Sephiroth back to their home. But who else was going to do it, if not him with AVALANCHE behind him? He couldn't just leave Sephiroth running around with the potential to go psycho at any moment.

Cloud found himself looking up towards the Lifestream, snapping "You all have a sick sense of humor and I've had about enough of it!"

Sephiroth followed his gaze and a wry smile crossed his lips. "I understand your position, I know all about the Lifestream's sense of humor. I had two mothers both of whom either used me to their ends or abandoned, me. The only people I truly trusted and loved were crippled by a sickness that ate away at their bodies and finally their sanity. I found out in the coldest way possible that much of what I had been led to believe about my existence was one lie after another, and the man who had made the first half of my life miserable was my father. Or at least I believed he was."

A pair of icey blues eyes bore into Sephirorth's jade, "So that was our fault? Mine, Tifa's, her father's," it was like poison, "my mother? Remember her? Or what about Zack or Aerith? Was it their fault?"

Sephiroth shook his head conceding to Cloud's point of the innocence of those caught in the crossfire of his madness and Jenova's war. "No. But all of those things happening in quick succession did push me past the limits that my fragile sanity could withstand. I was so tired, and so dead inside I did not have the strength nor the will to fight Jenova or my other half anymore."

"Other half..." and now they were at the crux of it, if Sephiroth did have a 'seperate personality'... well it didn't CHANGE that the face behind every horrible event, the one that forced him onto the path he'd taken from Nibelhiem's destruction, was this one... but it made a crucial difference. Though his melding of his own and Zack's memories had been more Schizophrenic then seperate personalities, it was close. Something he and Tifa had familiarity with. It could be a start to make the situation... bearable.

Sephiroth could see he was going to have to reveal much more about his history than he had intended. Cloud needed plenty of convincing, and opening up might be the only way. Hadn't Zack said something along those lines? Perhaps, after all that happened, Cloud did have a right to know the beginnings of the madness that led to the ruin of his life. "It started when I was a child, when I didn't even know what mind and consciousness were. Some of the experiments done on me were very painful in more ways than just pricking one's finger with a needle. In some the pain was excruciating, I would hide behind a mask of rage. Being angry took the pain away, but it also frightened me, to be so beyond control. So I would emerge, take control for awhile and, wake from the nightmare. But he was always there, waiting, growing stronger with each hit that I took over the years. There was a chance it might have been mended, but that chance was taken from me when… _he _lost his mind."

Cloud wanted to stomp all over that... except that little voice in the back of his head reminded him of exactly how callous Hojo had been. He _knew _how badly Jenova and that suffering could screw with your head and heart. He, at least, hadn't been alone. Zack was near, and he had had the memory of his mother, just as Aerith had had hers.

Allowing a twinge of sympathy, and justifying to himself that having a family, Marlene in particular, softened anyone. "Answer this question then. Have we been fighting him, the other you, this whole time?"

"By the time you fought me at Nibelheim my soul had already split in half. And when you cast me into the reactor, there was no longer a physical body to contain us." Sephiroth replied.

"And at the Forgotten City? The Northern Crater?"

"I was floating aimlessly with the other souls in the lifestream." Sephiroth said truthfully and added. "If you do not believe me, ask Aerith... She is the one who awakened me."

"I had a dream of her.. and Zack. They said I needed to help you." Cloud finally confessed, it was important that he be clear here.

Sephiroth nodded. "They said they would do so. I am guessing that was why you did not attack."

"Yes."

Another thick silence passed between them. With the adrenaline of facing Cloud now quickly ebbing away, Sephiroth suddenly felt weary, the whole world around him seemed to be going out of focus, he would have to sit down soon. Sephiroth straightened up as best he could, his posture having slumped a bit over the course of their conversation, and addressed Cloud formally once more. "If I have answered all of your questions, I should like to sleep a little. Being reborn is very tiring and I need my strength."

"I'm not leaving you here, free and clear to go insane again."

"Where do you suggest I go then? I have no friends, no family." Sephiroth said barely managing to cover the irritation in his voice.

Cloud stood for a second, wishing that Sephiroth didn't seem so... lost. Lost as he remembered being when he came back to Midgar after Zack's death. Sephiroth would need a firm foundation to hold it together. He sighed.

"There's a cot in my office." His tone was even, and his eyes weren't so icey but far from welcoming still, "Edge is as good a place as any to start over."

Sephiroth's eyes widened a fraction with honest surprise. He had not expected Cloud to actually take him in. "You are willing to shelter me?"

"Until I'm convinced that your 'other half' isn't a problem and you can actually stand on your own feet... yes."

Sephiroth bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you."

Cloud just nodded and made a gesture toward Fenrir before climbing on, assuming Sephiroth could get on by himself, trying hard to focus on the scenery.

Sephiroth anchored Masamune to the magnetic sheath on his back, silently praising the Planet for it's attention to detail in reproducing him. He climbed on to the motcycle behind Cloud and found himself in a rather awkward situation. There wasn't much of anything to hold on to except Cloud and he was not sure if this would put a strain on their fragile truce.

Glancing back to make sure Sephiroth was settled, Cloud started Fenrir and, trying his absolute hardest not to think about it, called over the engine noise, "Hold on."

Sephiroth hesitated trying decide quickly which part of Cloud would be the most diplomatic and least awkward place to hold on to. He was never one to like having his personal space invaded or invading someone else's space outside of battle. And on those rare occasions he permitted it, it was only by those of his very small inner circle of friends, much less someone who had been first a stranger to him and then his enemy for the good part of the last decade.

His first instinct was to go for Cloud's shoulders, but that might impede the blonde's steering abilities. The mid-chest option was out, it was not a well anchored part of the body on the motorcycle, if they stopped suddenly it could cause him to jerk Cloud right off the bike, not to mention his grip could crack a rib. So that left one choice. One that was awkward enough to do with your best friend or SOLDIER comrade, much less with your former enemy. The waist, right above the hip, it had the best center of gravity and was well out of the way of any arm movements. However, one wrong move or bump could send one's hands lower...

Cloud took a deep breathe once Sephiroth settled his hands in the almost the exact same place as Tifa usually did, and he'd admit to a slight tensing of his hand, but Sephiroth was quick, and with a fervent prayer that there's be nothing in the road that would cause a 'displacement' of Sephiroth's hands or his own hips, Cloud revved Fenrir and they were off through the Sleeping Forest...

About halfway way home, Cloud, intent on the road and ignoring his passenger, suddenly realized Sephiroth's hands were loosening, and before he could even glance to see what was going on... he felt the familiar sensation of a sleepy head resting against his back.

Cloud rolled his eyes and let out a put upon sigh. Then, he reached back with one hand and brought Sephiroth's arm a little more forward so he could keep a hold on him.

This was going to be a long drive...

000

Chica: ya know Vega... there are times when we're just bad bad people.

Vega: I know, this is actually one of my favorite chapters so far! I love how we go from tension and drama to just plain awkwardness.

Chica: Hehehe! Andwe haven't even to Tifa's reaction yet. XD


	4. Home Again

Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play.

Big thanks to AncientlyBroken for beta reading this fic!

Try Try Again 3

000

"We're here," Cloud stated flatly, giving Sephiroth a not so gentle nudge to the ribs with his elbow. Old feelings were not so easily put aside. He sighed, and tried again, more gently, and said a small prayer of gratitude. Sephiroth had dozed in and out most of the way home.

The former general grumbled something incoherent as he opened his eyes and blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"I know how you feel," Cloud muttered standing and stretching.

Sephiroth shook his head to clear it before straightening up and dismounting the motorcycle himself. "I had not meant to sleep so deeply."

"Yeah well, I suspect your new body's getting used to things." Cloud said trying to hide his apprehension as he reached for the door knob. Then he stopped, remembering one rather important thing. Her turned back to Sephiroth and held out his hand. "Masamune."

Sephiroth went entirely still, a snake coiled and waiting. "What?"

"Masamune. Hand it over." Cloud said keeping his hand extended, but bending his knees in case this went bad.

"Why?" Sephiroth asked coldly.

"You don't think I'd let you be here armed?" Cloud asked, tone flat and just as cold.

The deadlock continued for a few moments, and broke when Sephiroth removed the blade from his back . "No. I had not thought about it," Sephiroth said softly. The idea of being parted from the one thing that had been consistently by his side since he was 13, terrified him, though he would never admit it. Even in the Lifestream the mental image of himself still had the blade with him. It was like giving up a hand, but if this was what was required. This was his chance.

"Tifa still has the scar you gave her with that," Cloud said darkly pointing to Masamune.. "And she's not the only one here."

"Of course." He said and extended the weapon to Cloud, hilt first. Still he couldn't let it go with silence, "Remember it's not the weapon that's responsible, but the wielder. It is the only thing living or dead that has never left my side. Please take care of it."

Cloud nodded and carefully took the sword. He had felt the same about the buster sword and now First Tsuguri, he felt a moment of sympathy. Not that it did changed anything. He couldn't take any chances of the infamous sword being used against him or Tifa again. But he would keep Masamune safe.

With that matter taken care of, he once again turned towards the door to the house, but before he could even turn the knob the door flew open and a blur of black and pink threw itself at Cloud in a great big hug.

"Cloud you're home!" Marlene chirped, clinging to Cloud's leg, the only thing on Cloud's body that she was tall enough to effectively hug.

"Good to see you too Marlene," He said, carefully shifting Masamune before giving her braid a playful tweak before picking her up to give her a more proper hug. "How are things?" He asked carefully, hoping to get an answer out of Marlene that would help him gauge Tifa's mood.

"Not tellin', it's a surprise!" Marlene giggled.

The sweet-spicey smell of snicker-doodles wafted through the now open door. His favorite. Marlene had turned him on to them not long after she had come to live with them on a more permanent basis. Of course now he felt doubly guilty about the silver haired bomb he was about to drop on Tifa.

Marlene peered over Cloud's shoulder at the stranger standing silently behind him. "Who's your friend?"

"Eh," Cloud thought quickly, sparing a glance at Sephiroth who straightened up now that he was being looked at. "That's a surprise too Marlene. Where is Tifa? In the kitchen?"

Marlene nodded. "I can get her for you!"

"That's okay, we'll find her together. As for you..." He said turning a little uncertainly to Sephiroth. Even after everything that happened there were still some instincts as a trooper that made it feel strange to be giving _Sephiroth_ orders. "Just... wait here and don't wander off or touch anything... a whole lot."

Sephiroth nodded and leaned against the wall next to Fenrir.

Cloud followed Marlene into the kitchen which acted as a divider between the living quarters and the bar, carefully stashing Masamune by the door frame where it was unobtrusive.

Tifa was supervising Denzel pulling out a tray of cookies from the oven.

"Easy now," She said as Denzel carefully lifted the tray to set it on the stove top. "Okay now use the spatula to get them on to the cooling grates."

Cloud allowed himself a small smile, despite his dry mouth, at seeing Tifa acting so... domesticate. Not that Tifa wasn't, after all the owner of a bar had to maintain a clean space and know how to cook, however usually she did it during the hours he was away, as he tried to be home before the bar opened just in case Tifa needed an extra hand or eye around. Plus if he had a day off he'd do some things around the house, laundry cleaning, etc., more habits from his cadet days when they had inspections of their bunks to make sure they were spic and also span.

Tifa turned at the sound of his footsteps entering the kitchen and she greeted him with a smile, while still keeping watch on Denzel out of the corner of her eye. "Hey! How'd the delivery go?"

Cloud absently rubbed the back of his head and he quickly mulled over how he was going to break Sephiroth's presence to Tifa.

"Hello?" Tifa said giving one of his spikes a playful tug. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost?" He stayed silent for a bit too long. Her face went serious. "Does it have to do with that thing you were going to check out after the delivery?"

Cloud, unable to lie to her, nodded, "The delivery went fine but uh…" Denzel, finished removing the cookies from the tray, and Marlene watching the two adults gave him cause to pause. The kids didn't need to see this, "Hey Denzel, why don't you go check out my maps, and Marlene-"

"I'll go bring your friend some cookies!" Marlene piped up, always eager to help.

"Friend?" Tifa looked at Cloud, raising an eyebrow, then gave him a knowing smirk placing her hands on her hips for emphasis. "Another lost puppy follow you home?" She said, and then, she turned to Marlene. "Go ahead Marlene there's some cool ones on the counter there, and tell him he can come inside if he wants to."

"Marlene hold on a-" too late, the pink ribbon was disappearing into the garage, the door shutting with an ominous and final _click!_

_Shit._

Now he had to really think fast, not something he wanted to do in this situation. "Uh, where do I start. Tifa, did you have any weird dreams... about Aerith?"

"No. Why?" She said quirking an eyebrow. And Cloud's last hope was dashed.

"Well, I did, both she AND Zack came to me while I was on my way to Icicle Inn, they wanted my help." A deep breath, and he looked down, "Tifa I swear to you I wouldn't have helped him if they hadn't asked me."

Now very confused Tifa narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Who is he and why wouldn't you help him otherwise?"

Cloud opened his mouth to answer, but was saved the 'trouble' by the sound of footsteps coming up from the garage.

"Are you sure you don't want a cookie?" Marlene asked as she came into the kitchen, guiding Sephiroth by the hand.

"No, I am not hungry. Thank you." Sephiroth said patiently, if not kindly to the child..

"No..." Tifa said through bloodless lips, her every muscle stiff and immobile as wood until she turned around.

"Tifa!" Marlene said excited, turning to Tifa. "Sephiroth doesn't want a cookie, can I have his?"

"You may have mine if you like," Sephiroth said.

Cloud quickly stepped in. "Marlene go to your room for right now, okay? It's time for grown up talk and tell Denzel to stay out of the kitchen too." Shamelessly taking advantage of Tifa's shock he turned back to her and began explaining quickly. "Tifa... they asked me to help him, I couldn't ignore that." Marlene stared between her guardians, half eaten cookie in her mouth and confusion on her face... but obediently did as she was told.

The sound of the kitchen door shutting seemed to snap Tifa back, she immediately took her battle stance, very much intending to pulverize that porcelain face, and demanded, "How did you come back again? Another remnant? This time we'll beat you so badly there won't be enough left of you to bring back!"

"Tifa!" Cloud got in between them and meeting her eyes to hide Sephiroth completely from view , hoping to calm her down so she would listen. Silently he thanked Gaia for the unending calmness of the former general that kept him from making any threatening actions; that would only send her over the edge. "He's not here to fight..."

"Cloud! Wake up!" She yelled in his face. "He's fucking with your mind again!"

"Tifa you think I haven't learned the difference between Jenova's manipulations and Zack and Aerith's presence by now? Tifa, look at me.".

She did look into his eyes and saw they were not empty and cold like she has seen him when he was Jenova's puppet. Now they were earnest and determined. But how could this possibly be true, how could Cloud trust Sephiroth if he wasn't under mind control? How could he shelter the man that had killed her father and his mother and destroyed their lives? "But it's Sephiroth Cloud! How can you trust him? How could you bring him here! You are putting all of us in danger!"

"Would you rather here, with us or wandering around unchecked out there in public!" Cloud winced at his own words but he had to drive the point home. "Besides. Zack and Aerith asked, you think they'd put any of us in danger?"

"How can you make such a decision on a dream?" She shot back, though her stance had come down from 'imminent pulverization' to 'prepared to defend myself'.

"Because they told me he was coming back, and why. I found him and he told me the exact same thing." at her disbelieving expression he threw in his trump card, "There's also this." He reached over to where he had placed Masamune by the doorway,and pulled out sword, then gave himself a mental slap at her involuntary step backwards though he continued to speak to her, "He handed this over when I asked."

Tifa's eyes widened considerably at both the sight of the weapon that had done so much harm, and at the fact that Cloud, not Sephiroth, was the one holding it. Simple words were one thing, words could be turned into lies, but straight forward actions were another thing entirely. For warriors like Cloud and Sephiroth their swords were like another limb on their bodies. For Sephiroth to turn over his weapon, maybe just maybe...

Sephiroth thought now would be as good a time as any to step in and give Cloud some support. "As he says, I am not here to fight, just to live. To contain the essence of Jenova and keep it from tainting the Lifestream."

Tifa slowly brought her fists down, though her hands were still clenched, she looked away from the other two men, struggling to understand, to get her brain around this whole situation.

"Tifa?" Cloud said softly, taking a step toward her. At her continued silence he placed his hands on her shoulders and pressed his face into her hair. "Look I don't like this situation anymore than you do," He whispered, "but we can't take a chance that he's telling the truth, and releasing the essence of Jenova that's in him. It could cause Geostigma all over again. And even if he's lying we can't let him go wondering around out of our sight."

Still she remained silent, her body still tense, no doubt her mind in it's own private hell of bad memories. "Please Tifa..." His voice a desperate plea..

Tifa bit her lip, Cloud's points were all valid, but she still didn't like it. She let out a breath and pulled out of Cloud's grasp. "You better make a room for him, then."

Cloud nodded. "Thank you. Uh, we'll talk later." Knowing Tifa probably wanted to be alone now with her spinning head he turned to exit the kitchen and motioned for Sephiroth to follow, and they left.

Tifa gave a vague nod back without looking at Cloud or Sephiroth. She was feeling overwhelmed, so she needed them to be gone until her heart rate returned to normal and she had gotten her feet back under her. She returned to the near-forgotten cookies, moving them from the cooling grates into the cookie jar.

Sephiroth followed Cloud silently until they reached a locked door, which Cloud proceeded to unlock. "I am sorry if I have made her angry with you..."

Cloud, wondering himself just how long he'd be riding the couch, answered shortly, "Teef will deal, eventually." _I hope_ was added to himself.

Cloud opened the door to reveal a rather... cluttered space. Maps and order forms, both old and new, as well as bills, pencils, etc were scattered all over the table, not to mention a spare tire for his bike along a few other spare parts which meant a rubber smell clung to the room. Suddenly the world hero felt embarrassed at how much he had let the place go in front of his one-time hero who's spirit of order and neatness were as legendary as his battle skills.

It was taking a great deal of Sephiroth's considerable willpower to hold back from overhauling Cloud office right then and there. "Organization can come later after things settle down."

"Hey, I've got a business that's 90% traveling, two healthy, active kids here, Gaia willing they'll stay that way, plus... Tifa." Cloud retorted in an effort to justify his current surroundings.

"Quite a handful indeed," Sephiroth nodded, he knew how much a handful a group of young hot headed SOLDIERs could be, one dark spikey haired SOLDIER in particular. "If you want I can help with the organization, it would help in keeping track of the finances of the business and make things easier for you."

Cloud was about to refuse, but then realized that if he wanted there to be any hope of Tifa softening to Sephiroth and this arrangement, he'd have to set the example, just like she had done for him during Geostigma and the attempted reunion, "I'll think about it." He paused, knowing what he was about to say, and it felt like swallowing rotten onions and then added, "I appreciate your offer."

Sephiroth cleared his throat and spoke formally like a SOLDIER waiting to receive orders. "What do you wish me to do?"

Cloud looked away for a second, once again feeling weird about issuing Sephiroth an order but... "Let's get you set up with a bed. The cot dressings are over in that box, I think. Do you have any belongings that need to be stored?"

"My clothes and Masamune, which you already have," Sephiroth said simply.

"Right," Cloud said, "As far was what to do next, It's best if you don't go out for now... I'll ask Teef about getting you some necessities while she and the kids are shopping tomorrow."

"She does not seem very..." Sephiroth paused for a moment trying to formulate a delicate response. "...comfortable with my presence." Cloud turned on him, though his expression wasn't angry, just very very frank.

"She lost everything in a single night. Her home, her father, me. Woke up alone in a med center where Master Zangan left her. She still won't talk about her life between then and becoming owner of the original 7th Heaven." A sigh, "Then our AVALANCHE days... Aerith, Geostigma and Jenova's Reunion."

Sephiroth lowered his head understanding. "Everything that I am reminds her of those things."

Cloud sighed, this wasn't going to fix anything. "Just... show us that you're different. That you're not a danger to us and worth all... this."

Sephiroth nodded firmly. "I will."

Cloud nodded back, there was nothing more he could ask of Sephiroth. "Why don't you get some rest for now, we'll talk more about what we're all going to do later. I'll see if maybe we don't have anything for you to sleep in."

Sephiroth nodded elegantly. "Thank you."

Cloud ran his fingers through his hair and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "Your welcome.", before beating a hasty retreat.

After Cloud left, Sephritoh set up the cot on the other side of the room, just below the window. This motion was familiar to him, he must have spent hundreds of nights on a cot on various battlefields. He felt his chest tighten at first as the memories rose. Memories of happier days, celebrating victories around the fire and wild nights with Genesis where the cot nearly broke under the force of their passion.

_Genesis... _

He felt his chest clench painfully like a vice tightening around his heart. The weariness he had managed to resist and put aside now came back 10 fold. He unhooked his armour and stretched out on the cot not bothering to take anything else off. In all honesty he felt incredibly vulnerable out of uniform in an unfamiliar place. And this place was both unfamiliar and hostile to his presence. He shook his head trying to get the image of enchanting sapphire eyes, silky auburn hair and ruby red lips out of his head. He closed his eyes willing his mind to go blank and get some much needed rest.

000

Tifa remained the kitchen, better now that the sources of her turmoil were upstairs and out of sight for the moment. And she'd been able to take some of the anger out on a few of her kitchen drawers while making a pot of tea.

She let out a weary sigh when Cloud entered the kitchen again. "How's -" At the moment she just couldn't say his name. "Him?"

"Confused... scared I think." He said catching her eyes, "I'd think you could relate." Tifa let out a feint huff and slammed another drawer shut. She didn't like thinking about that period of her life, the sheltered, terrified orphan thrust into a very, very cruel world with no anchor.

"That's not funny Cloud!"

"I wasn't trying to be." He said softly.

"Could have fooled me the way you're defending him!" She said, more hurt than angry, not quite yelling for the sake of the children, but still intense all the same. "Since when does that monster know what fear is, he's the one that causes it. His isn't capable of feeling it!"

Cloud flushed he _had_ been taking Sephiroth's side in all of this, he at least owed her some explanation. "I know what it's like to be split in two. To be outside of my head and not be able to stop myself before the worst things happen."

He came closer, sandwiching her between himself and the sink counter, not so much trapping her as just making sure she wouldn't slip away. She needed to listen. "Think Teef, think about what it was like for you after Nibelhiem. Lost and confused with no one to turn to."

Tifa deflated, "You're… right. I just can't forget that he was the cause of all that."

"I know... I know." he said softly putting his hands on her shoulders. "I can't either. For the last seven years he's been my enemy, haunted me... But, what if he's telling the truth... What if Jenova took advantage of a moment when he was stunned and hurting and took control? We know it's possible. It's just like what happened to me, I was just like a..."

"Puppet." Tifa murmured.

"Exactly," He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him, and offered her a smile. "Except I had a Martial Arts expert prepared to beat some sense into me, and my memories of my mother. But Sephiroth didn't." Cloud's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "If it was Jenova... she choose her moment well."

Tifa sighed, "It's going to be hard, he looks exactly the same. It all came back, every horrible memory came back."

"I know... I feel the same." He took her head in between his hands and kissed her forehead. "Look you don't have to like him, just tolerate him. Like that rich asshole you had in the bar a few days ago."

Tifa snorted. "Yeah he was lucky he left a good tip or he'd be missing a few teeth."

Cloud chuckled, "I know it."

Tifa took in another deep breath and let it out. "Okay I can't make any promises, but I'll try to be civil." She offered him a small smile and gave his arm a playful punch. "I put up with you don't I?"

"Oh you'll pay for that young lady!" Cloud growled, and in a rare playful moment, grabbed her and started tickling.

Tifa let out a laugh, struggling to get free. "Stop! Stop it! I'm not supposed to be laughing now!"

Cloud of course ignored her tickling her till they both ended up on the ground.

Tifa smirked and in one quick move rolled so that she was on top of him. She entwined her fingers in his hair and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I missed you." She whispered in his ear.

"Missed you more." He murmured back, resting a calloused hand against the soft skin of her cheek.

And then as if on cue there came a high pitched call from Marlene upstairs. "Cloud, can I come out of my room now?"

Cloud let out a weary groan, while Tifa banged her head a couple of times against his chest.

"Yes, Marlene you can come out." Cloud called out to her.

"Duty calls," Tifa sighed climbing off of Cloud.

Cloud slowly picked himself up off the floor, "So does this mean I don't have to ride the couch tonight?"

Tifa, having just gotten to her feet looked at him, her expression clearly asking 'you're not serious?'

"You just brought our worst enemy into this house with no warning, nearly giving me a heart attack. Oh no mister you are not getting off that easy. You're on the couch tonight buddy."

Cloud winced a little, he supposed that he deserved that.** "**I'm sorry Teef..."

Tifa waved him off. "Save it for tomorrow when I can actually listen."

Cloud looked at her with sad eyes but quietly accepted her wish.

Tifa exited the kitchen without looking back. She knew if she did, she wouldn't be able to refuse him a second time.

000

_Chica: Well and there we have it! Poor Cloud though! Finally home but STILL no Tifa-cuddles... Well at least he can haz snickerdoodles?_

_Vega: Poor Sephy too, he misses his Gen-Gen and getting no love from anywhere. Hopefully he'll get a little pick-me-up in the next chapter!_


	5. Triple Dare

Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play.

Big thanks to AncientlyBroken for beta reading this fic!

000

Try Try Again 4

The door to Cloud's office creaked open as noiselessly as possible. One pair of blue eyes and another of brown peaked in, watching the sleeping figure on the cot.

"His hair's so long," Marlene whispered, her eyes following the silken silver strands as they dipped over the side of the cot, nearly touching the floor. "I thought only girls had long hair."

"Me too," Denzel nodded. "And the color, it looks like those guys Cloud fought last year." He clenched his fist at the thought.

Marlene shook her head. "Nuh-uh. His hair is lighter and shinier."

"You think so?" Denzel asked curious, then snapped back to the point, "If he is related to them, Cloud'll beat him, easy." He said with the complete faith only a child can muster.

"He seems nice," Marlene protested. "He let me have his cookie," as if that were the only criteria for being nice. She continued, "'Sides, Cloud would never let him stay if he was bad."

Denzel shrugged. "If you say so. " Denzel turned his head a little to the side, "I wonder what it feels like."

"I dare you to go touch it," Marlene challenged.

"What, too scared to touch it yourself?" Denzel shot back, giving the smaller girl a tiny shove.

"No!" Marlene snapped "You're the one who looks scared."

"Am not." Denzel returned boldly around the small lump of fear in his throat. Maybe it was because the man DID so strongly remind him of the three that had rounded up him and the others suffering from Geostigma...

"Then I double dog dare ya!" Marlene said, punctuating each word with a firm poke to his chest.

Denzel grunted then glared at his pseudo sister, "I triple dog dare you!"

"Fine!" Marlene puffed herself up just like her dad did before battle and went into the room. Denzel, realizing a little girl was showing him up, immediately darted in after her.

Marlene tiptoed toward the cot and carefully reached for the lovely strands of silver that dipped over the side of the cot, Denzel following suit at the same time.

"It's so soft." Marlene smiled running her little fingers through a lock of hair.

"And smooth..." Denzel agreed.

"It's like a baby bunny," Marlene giggled rubbing a lock of hair against her cheek. Denzel couldn't quite stifle an insane little giggle of his own.

Sephiroth stirred a little at the soft touches, but didn't wake as the children's vibes were small and nonthreatening. He only groaned softly. _"Genesis..."_

Denzel did not hesitate, grabbing Marlene and retreating to the far side of the room. Something in him speaking of danger and that they really shouldn't be here, that maybe they had trespassed on something private. They watched as the big man rolled over and his eyes opened a crack. They remained perfectly still as he blinked and then sat up slowly.

"Excuse me sir..." Marlene said bravely

"Are you... okay?" Denzel finished, but the stranger said nothing, just watched them head cocked to one side.

"What are you doing here?" Sephiroth said quietly, ignoring their questions completely, and having no desire to frighten the children.

"We were just uh..." Denzel looked desperately to Marlene. Marlene twiddled her thumbs anxiously, trying to come up with something. This was more intense than Tifa or Cloud catching her with her hand in the cookie jar before dinner.

"We um... wanted to know if you wanted a cookie after all." Marlene interjected quickly.

"No." Sephiroth shook his head. "I should like to go back to sleep though and I would rather not be disturbed."

Marlene's face relaxed into one of utter relief. "How about some tea then? I think Tifa was making a pot..." She added quickly again. He did look like he needed one.

"No thank you." Sephiorth replied politely, if not a bit wistfully. Tea did sound good right then, but he did not wish to overstay his welcome.

The children shrugged and left, the girl closing the door quietly behind her.

0000

Tifa and Cloud came to a truce when it came to dinner time and kept to different sides of the kitchen. Cloud was finishing with the tea and some milk for the kids, while on the other side Tifa prepared some sandwiches.

"Hey just in time!" Tifa greeted the kids as she finished a sandwich and put it on a plate.

"Cloud, can I take a cup up to Sephiroth?" Marlene asked as Cloud set the tea and milk down on the table.

"Yeah he looks like he needs one." Denzel added.

Tifa stopped cold for a moment, as did Cloud before turning to the kids, "You two have been talking to him?"

The two children froze and exchanged glances realizing too late that they had just revealed themselves.

"He made me do it!" Marlene pointed her finger at Denzel.

"Did not!" Denzel shot back. "You dared me to touch his hair first!" Immediately he covered his mouth, once again realizing too late he was putting himself deeper in trouble.

"Marlene, Denzel!" Tifa glared at her charges, crossing her arms the way any mother would when about to deliver a thorough scolding. Meanwhile Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a weary groan.

Marlene bowed her head and confessed. "I wanted to see if it was real or not."

Denzel, deciding that fessing up was better in the long run, followed suit. "Me too."

"I don't want either of you two doing that or anything like it again! You hear me?" Tifa snapped going back and forth between the two. How could she drive home how dangerous Sephiroth was without terrifying them completely?

Cloud's face turned serious and a little dark. "That was not a smart move. Sephiroth is a SOLDIER, primed to attack if he feels threatened. If you startle him; like when he's sleeping, he'll react on instinct and he's powerful enough that one of you could end up getting seriously hurt even if it is an accident." To drive the point home with something they could relate to he added. "It's like poking a sleeping Zolom with a stick. So keep your distance when he's sleeping and don't sneak up on him."

Both kids nodded, but Denzel spoke up, not to argue with the adults, but to put their minds at ease. "He didn't react like that though, he was reaching for something."

"I think he was having a bad dream because he said someone's name and then looked really sad." Marlene added.

"Someone's name?" Tifa asked confused.

"What name?" Cloud asked.

"Genesis, I think." Denzel said.

Now Cloud's eyebrows shot up and eyes widened in surprise.

"Genesis... that was another SOLDIER-First... one of Sephiroth's best friends, actually. There were rumors, even among the grunts..."

"Rumors about what?" Denzel quirked an eyebrow

Cloud's next words were without thought and rather poorly chosen considering the audience, he had meant it for himself, but it came out aloud. "That Sephiroth and he were lovers…"

"CLOUD!" Tifa wailed, her hands over Marlene's ears, fortunately before the girl could hear anything, "Kids present!"

Denzel tilted his head, his curiosity piqued. "So guys can like other guys? Like guys and girls do?"

"uh... Sometimes..." Cloud stuttered.

"Is a lover like husband and wife or something?" Denzel questioned on.

"Go head genius." Tifa shot at Cloud hands still around Marlene's ears, the little girl not making any protest. Her dad did the same thing whenever Cid was around.

"Uh well that is-" Cloud continued to fumble for the right words.

"Are you and Tifa lovers?" Denzel looked between his guardians. Tifa bit her lip, and glared at Cloud again. The answer was yes, but the children didn't need to know that, but something in Denzel's eyes said he needed to understand.

"Marlene ear muffs." Tifa ordered as she removed her hands for a moment. Marlene put her own hands over her ears, as she had done many times before, and began to hum a tune her dad had taught her.

"You could say lovers is more serious than dating, but less serious than marriage."

"So you are lovers?" Denzel said just trying to confirm the information.

"Yes" Tifa finally confessed sparing a glance at Cloud.

"Okay." Denzel shrugged, as if to say "what was the big deal?" and like any child after getting a satisfactory answer, his attention quickly switched to something else. "Can we still take Sephiroth some tea?"

"No, you may not take tea to Sephiroth." Tifa told him with a 'no-arguments' tone signaling to Marlene she could uncover her ears, "You'll sit here and eat your dinner with Cloud."

"But Tifa..." Marlene pouted.

"You heard Tifa it's a 'no go'." Cloud shut them down, then asked "How do you know he wants some?"

"Well, when we asked him he said no, but he said it like the way you said it while you were all depressed and we'd bring you some anyway and you'd drink all of it." Denzel explained.

Cloud gave Denzel a look as if to say, _"you're too smart for your own good kid."_

Tifa frowned, remembering the times Denzel was talking about. It had angered and frustrated her, though now she understood he was suffering the affects of the Geostigma. Taking a deep breathe, she went over to a cabinet she'd gladly kept closed for over a year, pulling out a tray she and Marlene had used to carry Denzel food when he was having a flare up. She grabbed a plate and placed two sandwiches on it. Then she took a teacup and filled it, adding some cream and a pot of sugar to the tray.

"Tifa?" Cloud looked at her in surprise.

"I said I didn't want the kids taking the tea to him. But he _did_look like he could use a cup, might as well take a sandwich too. You stay and keep the rugrats entertained ... I won't be long."

"Are you sure...?" He looked at her questioningly.

"Yes, I am. " She spared him a gentle smile and went up the stairs, balancing the tray carefully as she went. Tifa took a moment to steady herself before giving a knock.

Sephiroth was lying motionlessly on the cot, staring blankly up at the ceiling. He was tired, but in no mood to sleep anymore, still a little distraught over the pleasant dream that ended too soon. His muscles automatically tensed when a knock came at the door. He rolled his eyes a little betting that it was the children coming to bother him again. "Come in..."

Tifa opened the door and entered, tray first, "The kids said you looked liked you needed some tea, and it's dinner time."

Sephiroth stood up immediately, instinctively assuming a posture of attention to show respect for this woman whose home he had invaded. He was surprised to see Tifa, of all people. And offering him food no less. "You... You did not have to do this I..."

"Yeah, yeah spare me the tough guy 'I don't need anything' act. I went all through that with Cloud. You know for being enemies you two sure act a lot alike when you're depressed." She took a breath from her rant before laying it out, "Look the bottom line is this. If you are going to act as a living prison for Jenova then we need to keep you strong and you need to keep yourself strong."

Sephiroth was a little startled at first by her forwardness, then smiled a little. "I appreciate your frankness. Make no mistake I am grateful for your help."

"And I appreciate that, I do, and I'm grateful you respect my feelings about this whole situation." And surprisingly... she was, at least he wasn't acting as if everyone should just be okay with this, "I agreed to let you live in my home. This is what I do when you live in my home. So shut up and drink your tea." She commanded imperiously and perched on a chair waiting for his compliance.

To Tifa's surprise Sephiroth took no offense at the briskness of her remark, in fact he let out small snort of amusement. The he sipped his tea. "The manner in which you ordered me to drink my tea reminded me a Lieutenant General I once knew..."

"Cid, one of our friends, said that the first time I met him." Tifa explained neutrally, then a tiny grin got through, "Well... something like that."

Sephiroth took another sip of tea and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Would that be Cid Highwind?"

"Yes..."

"Ah." Sephiroth nodded. "The aforementioned Lieutenant general said he had a had a cousin named Cid Highwind."

"Cid mentioned he had a cousin in SOLDIER. Name was Colt." Tifa was suddenly aware just how, what was the word… small… their world must be.

"Then we are referring to the same person." Sephiroth said looking down at his tea. "I saw him briefly in the Lifestream. He has a message for Cid. Perhaps, one day, I will be able to deliver it."

"I'm sure Cid... will want to hear it." Sephiroth looked at her, the unspoken words of "but not now" hung in the silence, and he nodded in understanding.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Sephiroth asked after a drawn out pause had started to become uncomfortable.

"I'm not hungry."

"Neither am I." Sephiroth said. "The turmoil in my head has upset my stomach. Though the tea has helped sooth that."

"Does it have something to do with... Genesis?" Tifa quirked an eyebrow.

Sephiroth froze. His face remained unchanged, though his teacup began to tremble ever so slightly. He swallowed hard, set the cup down before it broke, and thought up the best avoidance response he could. "He was my second in command and a dependable comrade in the Wutai wars." And in his own thoughts added _And the first person to make me feel human._

Tifa was silent for a long moment before, "Wow... that was beautifully executed. Formal, and detached, with enough information that would send most people on their way without any more questions." How many times had she said something like that when her friends would call and she hadn't heard from Cloud in forever?

Sephiroth frowned. "As a general of SOLDIER and example to the entirety of ShinRa 's empire, it was... let's just say I was instructed in the art of detachment practically from birth"

"You still went weak at the knees when facing him, though. Am I right?" She gave him a sly smile and taking a wee bit of joy from unsettling the man across from her.

Sephiroth closed his eyes envisioning those sapphire eyes and that bright smile that was always meant for him. "Genesis was... unique..."

"Most people would use the word 'special'" Tifa managed a small smile, thinking of Cloud.

"As you well know I am not most people." Sephiroth stated flatly.

Tifa didn't know why but she felt a bit of pity for the man and continued. "I have known 'unique' people who get you to love them. I also know how much it hurts... when they're gone." She said gently.

Sephiroth remained quiet for a long time, eyes far away, but when he finally did speak it was to her, his own private pain carefully guarded once again. "I have done both you and Cloud a great evil. No matter what I do I cannot undo what has been done, no matter how much I wish otherwise. I would apologize, but words seem... useless."

Tifa closed her eyes and for just a second she could see it... the fire, the blood. Unconsciously her hand came to rest against the long thin scar on her abdomen, feeling the metal pierce her flesh...

Finally, she opened her eyes, "You're right... words aren't what either Cloud, or I, need."

"I was once the one giving the orders, now I have no idea where to begin. Tell me what to do." He looked at her eyes searching almost... pleading for direction.

Tifa shook her head and turned away. She didn't know what to say. Her own turmoil was sending both her head and stomach roiling. She sighed.

"Eat your damn sandwich." She said dryly, watched as the corner of his mouth twitched, and left the room without another word. This wasn't going to be easy, but she promised Cloud she would try. That was all she could give. She would try...


	6. Tifa's Special Pancakes

_Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to AncientlyBroken for Betaing and all of her contributions._

Try Try Again 5

The next morning Cloud woke up on the couch to the sound of small voices whispering above him. He opened his eyes to find Denzel and Marlene staring at him.

"What's up?" Cloud asked groggily.

"How come you're on the couch?" Marlene looked at him quizzically.

"Did you and Tifa have a fight?" Denzel said flatly.

"No I was up late and I didn't want to disturb her." Cloud answered in a poor attempt to deflect.

"Fight." Denzel said dryly.

"Yep. Last time it was 'cause you punched out that guy for slapping Tifa's... b-u-t-t." Marlene giggled having spelled out the word.

Cloud groaned and covered his eyes with his arm. "Even if it's just part of the bar scene, he had no right to do that."

"Well, yeah. And that was totally cool to see you kick you-know-what!" Denzel grinned punching his fist into the other hand. Normally, the children were not allowed in the bar during business hours, but when the commotion started the kids couldn't resist a peek.

"But you had to sleep on the couch for a long time," Marlene said.

"Lesson to be learned; fighting is not the answer," Cloud said tapping each of them on the forehead with his finger.

"So what did happen last night?" Denzel asked.

"Oh she's a little upset that I brought Sephiroth home unannounced." Cloud said, covering his eyes again.

"Looks like more than a little." Denzel pointed out.

"Yeah you probably should have called her first.." Marlene said, eyebrows raised and her small hands on her hips, looking for all the world exactly like a miniature version of Tifa.

"I think he's up, I keep hearing footsteps." Denzel pointed to the ceiling.

"Let's go and bring him breakfast!" Marlene cried excitedly, then immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, not wanting to disturb Tifa.

"I wonder what he likes."

"Maybe we should go ask him. Don't wanna make something he's allergic to or doesn't like." Marlene suggested.

"Yeah, Cid was allergic to cinnamon, and his tongue swelled up like a balloon." Denzel laughed. Cloud couldn't suppress a chuckle at the memory of Cid with a major lisp. "All right, but if you're going up then I'm coming with you."

"Really? Why Cloud?" Marlene looked at him quizzically, as did Denzel.

Cloud paused for a moment. Sephiroth would already have enough people treating him with anger and suspicion, his psyche didn't need the kids doing that as well. "Remember our talk yesterday? Sephiroth's... different. He used to be a first class SOLDIER his instincts are trained for fighting and right now he's in a new environment with new people so that makes him ultra alert so it would be easy to startle him and he might attack in self defense."

"Ooooooooooh." The two said.

"That makes sense. I would get that way during one of my bouts with geostigma." Denzel remembered.

"And when we first moved into here after it was built, you and Tifa were jumpy whenever you'd sleep." Marlene recalled. She knew because she was just as jumpy.

"Exactly," Cloud said getting up. "All right come on."

The kids were only too happy to comply, hustling their way up the stairs with Cloud, but creeping quietly passed the closed door where Tifa was still fast asleep.

Marlene bounded forward hand on the door knob ready to burst in, when Denzel stopped her.

"We should knock first?" Marlene looked a Cloud guiltily, having for a moment forgotten all about yesterday and how upset everyone had been about their sneaking into Sephiroth's room.

Cloud nodded his approval. "Good idea, alert him to your presence." Denzel rapped firmly but not overly loud on the door.

"Mr. Sephiroth?" He called out.

"What's his last name?" Marlene asked Cloud.

Cloud quirked his head thoughtfully, "You know, I don't know... He was always just Sephiroth."

"What were the last names of his mom and dad then?" Denzel asked.

"Uh..." Cloud hesitated on that one, Sephiroth's parentage was always a long, complicated and sordid story, fortune smiled and he was spared telling it when Sephiroth opened the door.

"Good morning." Sephiroth said upon opening the door.

"Hello!" Denzel and Marlene called out in unison. Cloud stood protectively behind them, face impassive and hands loose at his sides, ready for anything.

"Hey that's my daddy's shirt!" Marlene said pointing eagerly at the black with white lettering shirt that read, "It takes a smart guy to play dumb." Evidently, sometime during the night, Sephiroth had changed his clothes into the ones Cloud had left for him. Barret always left a few items of clothing at the house, and he was the only person amongst them taller than Sephiroth.

Cloud barely managed to suppress a chuckle at Sephiroth's attire, and relaxed a bit. He had never seen the former general out of uniform. And here he was, in cargo pants and a T-shirt. If anything, Sephiroth looked more uncomfortable in the casual clothes.

"We're gonna make breakfast!" Marlene chirped.

"What kinda breakfast food do you like?" Denzel asked curiously.

"I'll have whatever you are having." Sephiroth said.

"You're not allergic to anything?" Marlene pressed.

Sephiroth shook his head.

"YEAH! C'mmon Denzel, let's get Tifa to make her special pancakes! Sephiroth needs special pancakes for his first morning here!" Tifa's special pancakes were a basic recipe Tifa's mom had taught her but a secret ingredient: a splash of Mideel Hard Cider in the batter with chunks of apples and cinnamon.

"And scrambled eggs," Denzel added chasing happily after Marlene. Cloud shook his head, one moment Denzel was 10 going on 18 with all the cares of man grown, the next he was back to being a boy with no greater concerns than to have cheese on his eggs or not.

"With toast and blackberry jam-!"

Cloud snagged both kids and pulled them back a step, making his 'quiet' signal. "Hang on."

"Oh yeah, Tifa's still asleep," Denzel said already mulling over a plan B. "We could make her, her favorite breakfast."

"That's not it, though that's a nice thought." Cloud was actually wondering how much food Sephiorth's stomach could take, "Why don't we just start with pancakes and eggs then go from there. I can make the pancakes, you guys maybe get the milk, juice, and set the table."

"Tifa makes them better." Marlene pouted. Cloud gave her a half-amused/half irritated look and then turned her towards the stairs marching her a couple of steps. "You, ingredients and eggs from the fridge, go."

Denzel followed Marlene downstairs with a laugh. "Don't worry Marlene I'll make sure he does it right."

"They are very... outspoken." Sephiroth said, watching the children jostle down the stairs.

Cloud glanced towards his former idol, "They're kids, it's their job. Tifa and I encourage them to speak their minds. It's the only way to beat something like ShinRa. No secrets." There was a glint in the sky-bue eyes, as if daring Sephiroth to question their parenting philosophy.

Sephiroth nodded in agreement. "This world needs more of a child's honesty." They stood there awkwardly for a moment, before making their way down stairs.

The children were already gathering the ingredients for pancakes, Cloud shooing them away from the stove. After turning on the stove top element and setting a greased pan to heat up, he began mixing the ingredients, though Denzel's mother-Chocobo eyes didn't leave him alone for a moment, lest Cloud screw up the pancakes they got only on their birthdays (if they had behaved the day before), and certain special occasions.

"Not so fast! You have to do it gently and evenly or it'll get too much air! And watch the cinnamon ratio-"

"Would you like to do this Denzel?"

"Yes!"

"... too bad!"

Sephiroth remained back at first just observing, the sweet smell of apples and cinnamon tantalizing his nose with a nagging familiarity. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked tentatively.

"Here!" Marlene beckoned eagerly to an open counter, clutching a metallic bowl with a carton of a dozen eggs nestled safely inside. "Know how to make scrambled?"

"I haven't done so in quite some time, I will try to remember Angeal's teachings." Sephiroth replied taking the carton of eggs out of the bowl and placing it on the counter.

"Don't worry, it's like learning to to do a cartwheel! Enough practice and you just know how to do it!" Marlene encouraged just as Tifa and her daddy had when she was learning to do a cartwheel, as she stepped up on her little pink footstool so she could watch Sephiroth work.

Sephiroth nodded and took one of the eggs and tried to delicately crack it, however with fatigue still gnawing at him, his precision failed him and he applied just a touch too much pressure and crushed the egg completely, sending yoke flying everywhere.

Marlene managed to duck just in the nick of time, avoiding the majority of the mess, "Uh oh!" she exclaimed then went to grab a towel, she offered Sephiroth's arm a kind pat though, "Just takes a little more practice! And that's why we brought out lots of eggs!" Sephiroth looked at his hands and felt shame, his hands had never been trained to handle delicate things like eggs.

"You have gentler hands than mine." Sephiroth pointed to her hands that were half the size of his.

"It's okay, you'll get the hang of it eventually." Marlene told Sephiroth with a confident smile.

"You should've seen the messes SHE made before." Denzel called over his shoulder, watching as Cloud added the cider.

"Hey!" Marlene shouted indignantly.

"There were shells and yoke everywhere except the bowl." Denzel continued on cheerfully.

"Denzel, knock it off." Cloud gave him a warning look. Marlene pursed out her lips and crossed her arms in a very definite pout.

"It seems a child's honesty unfortunately lacks a little tact," Sephiroth said wryly.

"Kids..." Cloud said with a mock put-upon air, "Don't worry Marlene it took Denzel 2 dozen eggs before he could keep the shells out of the scramble."

Cloud's revelation immediately dispelled Marlene's bad humor and she giggled and pointed at Denzel. "Haha!"

"Marlene... Don't start now," Cloud gave her the same warning tone before beginning to pour the batter onto the hot pan.

In an effort to provide Cloud some assistance and a distraction for at least one of the children Sephiroth calmly stepped in. "Marlene, perhaps you could watch my technique and make sure I am cracking the egg right."

Cloud caught on to the ploy and jumped in with Denzel, "Denzel, pancakes still smelling right?"

"They smell right and the batter has the right amount of air pockets. The key now is to flip them over at the right moment." Cloud nodded as if giving it some serious thought before at just the right second, flipping over the pancakes in rapid fire. A glance through the corner his of eye showed Marlene correcting Sephiroth's finger hold.

This time Sephiroth drew a deep breath and remembered the gentleness of calloused fingers along his cheek. A soft fluttering of fingers as Genesis taught him the meaning of affection with a simple touch. Light and tender. That was what he knew off gentleness and he translated that feeling into his hands.

"Perfect!" Marlene clapped her hands. "You didn't even break the yoke. You wanna gold star? I know where Tifa keeps 'em!"

"A gold star?" Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow at them.

"Stickers we get when we do a good job."

"Like extra free time because you finally reached 300 sit-ups." Cloud threw out, catching Sephiroth's confusion.

"Ah. Now, how do you want the eggs done light and fluffy or just barely mixed?" Sephiroth asked remembering Genesis liked the former and Angeal the latter.

"Light and fluffy." Was the immediate response, because while delicious... the pancakes were quite rich so they needed something less heavy to go along with them.

Sephiroth then proceeded to mix the eggs so rapidly it was barely possible to see his arm and the whisk go around. By the time he had finished, the eggs were light and frothy.

"Looks yummy!" Marlene drooled as Cloud finished the first round of pancakes and put them on a plate.

"Hold on there kiddo," Cloud lifted the plate out of Marlene's reach. "We gotta get Tifa first. Sephiroth has to cook the eggs anyway."

"Awwww!" Both kids groaned in unison, again Sephiroth stepped successfully distracting them.

"Perhaps you two could suggest what I should put in the eggs to make them taste even better."

"There are spices right there." Marlene informed him, pointing towards a cabinet above the stove.

"Yeah and Tifa left some herbs in the fridge." Denzel said going to fetch the herbs. The two kids watched as he added the herbs and spices they suggested; pepper, chives, dill and a dash of hot sauce, and smiled when the lovely smells reached their noses.

"How much longer?" Denzel groaned, clearly hungry.

"3 minutes and 23 seconds."

Denzel and Marlene both looked suitably impressed at Sephiroth's exactness, "How do you do know?"

"The heat, the speed of the color changes in the egg, and the smell." Sephiroth said simply.

As Sephiroth continued with the eggs, the kids began pouring out juice into glasses and taking out some fruit. Cloud meanwhile began to set their table, setting four places, then slowly hesitated when it came to the fifth place. Would Sephiroth want to take his food upstairs and eat by himself or eat down here..?

"Sephiroth will you sit by me!" Denzel said excitedly.

"No fair I wanna sit by him!" Marlene protested.

Sephiroth couldn't quite supress a chuckle. It reminded him of a time during some of the fancy Holiday dinners ShinRa used to host and people would vie for the honor of sitting next to him, that is if Genesis hadn't taken the spot first. He was often more in demand than that of even the President sometimes.

"I will sit between both of you, would that be acceptable?." Sephiroth said calmly.

Cloud handed Sephiroth a plate, impressed that Sephiroth seemed to have a knack for navigating the kids and their little 'traps'. His moment of amusement faded when he realized he'd have to brave getting Tifa up for breakfast.

"Nobody touch those pancakes!" He called as he headed for the stairs.

"Awww..!" came from the impatient kids.

"I mean it!" He yelled as he disappeared from their view.

Luckily for Cloud Tifa was already up and about, brushing her hair in the bathroom. "He's still down there, isn't he?" She asked when he entered the bathroom.

"Yeah..." Cloud nodded, "We've made breakfast. Your special pancakes included."

Tifa sighed and leaned moodily against the counter. "I half hoped this was all a bad dream."

Cloud came over to her and placed his arms around her shoulders, "Me too." He admitted meeting her eyes in the mirror.

Tifa sighed and leaned her head back against his chest. "We just can't have normal lives can we?"

"Guess not." He tightened his arms in a silent apology. In response Tifa entwined her fingers in his hair and pulled his head down to kiss him on the cheek. "No more couch I missed you way too much." Cloud chuckled and kissed her back.

"I'm right beside you, remember that."

"Let's get this over with," Tifa sighed after a stolen moment of bliss, and they broke apart making their way down, but stopped when they heard kids talking to Sephiroth or rather, interrogating him as children were prone to do when faced with someone new and interesting.

"How come your hair's that color?" Marlene asked, eyeing the silvery tresses, but knew better than to touch them this time after what happened in Cloud's office earlier.

"Why do your eyes look like a cat's?" Denzel asked.

Sephiroth, deciding to forgo the long winded sad story of his creation, went for the short straight forward answer. "I was born that way."

"Really? Cool!" Marlene said.

"So your parents had cat eyes?" Denzel inquired further, not as easily satisfied.

"How do you keep it so soft?" Marlene asked not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"Consistent mantainence." Sephiroth said answering the simpler of the two questions first, then moving on to Denzel's still keeping it simple. "And my eyes are my... mother's"

Marlene and Denzel exchanged quick 'sensitive topic... time to change it!' looks, though Marlene said in her sweet way, "Well it was nice of your mama to give you her eyes! My mama gave me her eyes, too!"

"Yes," Sephiroth nodded solemnly.

""So... how do you know Cloud?""

"He served under me in the military when ShinRa was still in power," Sephiroth said keeping his voice low. Denzel's eyes flashed while Marlene's fist clenched at the mention of the company that had dominated and shattered their lives.

Sephiroth looked away from the children and down at a glass of water in his hand. "We had such high hopes then. They were good men, you know. They thought they were doing the right thing in serving their country, ridding towns and villages of monsters. They wanted honor..." An image of Angeal holding the buster sword to his forehead flashed through his memory.

"They wanted fame..." Genesis appeared in his head as well, working the crowd and the papparazzi camera's with the utmost grace and dignity.

"And if you were born into poverty, SOLDIER was a way to rise out of it..." He even remembered a young Lieutenant named Anton Tempest who had risen from the slums of Midgar becoming fine First Class SOLDIER. What fate had befallen him, Sephiroth did not know, and for some reason that pained him.

"And those small towns that had aspirations to become something greater than themselves, it was a chance." He murmured his mind going straight to that first time he had met a startruck Cloud in the strength training room all those years ago.

Sephiroth let out weary sigh and took a sip of water before speaking again. "We couldn't see that we were merely tools for an ambitious empire, or maybe we just didn't want to see that our noble dreams were being used that way."

Marlene patted his his arm with her little hand, not knowing quite what to say, but hating to see the new member of their household so sad.

"ShinRa used a lot of people's dreams against them." Denzel whispered, remembering his own parents, lost in Sector 7.

"Yes they did..."

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other sharing a surprised look at Sephiroth open humanness with Denzel and Marlene, before Tifa slowly entered in first, "Good morning... all."

Sephiroth immediately straightened to attention his polite, but detached mask firmly back in place.

"Alright, have at the pancakes." Cloud told the kids.

"Yay!" Marlene and Denzel cheered as they all but ran to the awaiting breakfast.

Tifa smiled as she watched them dig in and encourage Sephiroth to try his pancakes with butter and maple syrup. Cloud brought out his GPS, plotting some new route, and Tifa felt herself relax a smidgen. Aside from the fifth person at the table and the pancakes... it felt like every other morning with her family, so Tifa slid into old habits, correcting manners and discussing plans for the day.

"Alright - Denzel elbows off the table and Marlene _ask_ for the syrup to be passed - so school starts-" Tifa was stopped by the children both groaning at the exact same time, "Now none of that! The world's a bit of a mess right now, but education is still the only way to get anywhere!"

"I can read, and write. I can even do fractions! What more is there?"

"A lot, Denzel. History, foreign languages, music, art, gym! Plus you two need to be around kids your own age- wandering around ruins, making a living doesn't count Denzel." Tifa said, foreseeing his protest, "School starts in two weeks and barring broken bones or a plague, you're _going_. Cloud-"

"You heard Tifa." Cloud said without looking up, responding to the demand for support.

"Listen to Cloud." The children sighed, "But first, we're getting you both some new clothes and supplies today."

After having a few bites of a pancake - which indeed was delicious - Sephiroth looked up and watched the little family as they bantered back and forth. It looked all so familiar. Genesis and Zack sitting across the table bickering over something trivial, while Angeal sat there quietly looking over plans for the next day, though watching the other two with amusement out of the corner of his eye.

Sephiroth's fork paused in mid path to his mouth, as his whole body seemed to tighten up, stealing the breath from his lungs and turned his stomach over. Then a searing pain radiated through through his skull, as if Cloud was using his head to sharpen the fusion sword.

_"They were taken from you"_ the voice whispered. _"So take your revenge..."_

Sephiroth's fork dropped to the floor with a sharp clatter, effectively stopping the conversation and buzz around him. He stood abruptly his whole body shaking and unsteady. "I'm...I'm not feeling well... excuse me."

Instantly Marlene flashed back to Denzel's sudden episodes and looked worried, "What's wrong Sephiroth? Is it your tummy?"

Denzel it seemed was of a similar mindset, "There's a bathroom upstairs and down the hall. If you need to..."

But Sephiroth had already retreated from the room.

Tifa and Cloud both sat rooted their seats, occasionally stealing glances at each other, shocked by what they had seen on Sephiroth's usually stoic face.

Several minutes after that, Cloud silently rose, the kids looking up from nibbling on their food unenthusiastically, and went in search of Sephiroth... making sure to grab First Tsurugi on the way.

Just in case.

Cloud had done a search of the bathroom, as well as his and Tifa's room where Masamune was still securely locked in the armoire, so then he went to his office. Though unadvised, and exactly what he'd told the children not to do, he opened the door without knocking and looked in, and was stunned at what he saw.

The once mighty general was collapsed on the floor, curled almost unnaturally into a tight ball, His eyes were rolled back into his head, His hands gripped his head so tightly it looked as if he might crush his own skull. Or perhaps he was just trying to keep something inside his head from getting out. That image did not bode well.

"Sephiroth?" Cloud said quietly.

Sephiroth's voice was hushed and raspy, as he repeated one phrase over and over again to himself, not even aware of Cloud's presence. "Go away...Go away...Go away...Go away...Go away..."

Cloud felt cold dread coil tight around his stomach like a vice. Instinctively he _knew _that Sephiroth was not talking to himself or even to Cloud, but the words were directed inward… to someone else. His hand tightened around the handle of the great sword and dread settled itself in his gut. His need to do something, anything, was gnawing at him. The only thing keeping him still was a promise remembered from a dream. Still his mind shouted at him to do something!

Then came footsteps on the stairs and Tifa's voice calling out, "Cloud?" And then the answer came.

If Tifa was his savior, the one who always kept him firmly rooted in the fact that; no matter what had been done to him he _was _human, then maybe...

"Stay out there Tifa." He called, and the footsteps stopped, "I've got him." Cloud slowly approached Sephiroth the same way Sephiroth had tried to approach him at the Cavern.

"Can you remember Genesis?" he asked the trembling figure on the floor, keeping his tone even and calm. "Remember what it was like to hold Genesis in your arms. To touch him. To kiss him."

Sephiroth's body continued to twitch and to tremble, curled tightly in on himself, but his eyes flicked to Cloud. He was still fighting, desperately fighting but at least Cloud knew the man was listening.

"Genesis?" was forced from thin lips and past clenched teeth.

"Do you remember the smile he held only for you?" Cloud went on, thinking of all the things he felt with Tifa, assuming that love was universal, and translating it to Spehiroth and Genesis.

"When did you first know you loved him?" Sephiroth groaned and turned his eyes away from Cloud, closing his eyes. _Oh shit_ he thought as he prepared to fight.

"He stayed." Sephiroth rasped out suddenly, as if taking a breath of air after being underwater. His eyes flicked back to Cloud, a single tear escaping the long lashes and trickling to the floor. The trembling lessened as Sephiroth asserted his control over himself again. _Thank Gaea_ _. _Cloud thought. After a few pants, Sephiroth spoke again, his voice smoother and softer, though still dazed. "He… stayed… till the morning."

Cloud blinked, wondering what that meant exactly, but went against delving any deeper for now. Instead he knelt down next to Sephiroth, glad to see the other man coming down from the grip of whatever it was inside his own soul and mind.

Sephiroth blinked a few more times and shook his head to clear it before turning to look at Cloud. His eyes widened a fraction as if he had just noticed Cloud was there. "Cloud?"

"Better now?"

Sephiroth looked down at the floor, his eyes narrowed as if trying to recollect exactly what had happened. After a few more breaths he slowly nodded. "I apologize, my emotions got the better of me." He said his voice still a little hoarse, but the stoic demeanor had returned. "He uses such moments of weakness to attack, has always done so before."

"How it worked on me, too. With the Geostigma and other... events." Cloud replied levelly, slowly extending a hand to help Sephiroth off the floor. It was strange, thinking that they had a common...phenomena.

Sephiroth ignored Cloud's hand and picked himself up off the floor. A little unstable, but he managed to stay on his feet. "I am afraid some of my problems may have been passed to you when Hojo gave you the S-Cells"

"Hmph." Cloud was well aware of that. But he didn't feel the need to keep going down that road. He'd dwelt on it more than enough when he was away from his family. He really didn't want to do it again. He'd made a promise to himself after his new chance at life, he'd live in the present.

As if to recall both men to the present, Tifa knocked on the closed door, "Cloud... it's awfully quiet in there."

Cloud looked over as if to ask if it was all right for Tifa to come in. When Sephiroth gave a small nod Cloud opened the door. "It's okay, come in."

Tifa stood there holding Sephiroth's plate, the smell of the still warm pancakes filling the room, "The kids wanted me to check on you and bring this up... Everything okay, now?"

"Yes, it has passed." Sephiroth said calmly. "I am sorry I interrupted your meal."

"Couldn't be helped." Tifa waved his apologies away, setting the plate down on the cot, "See if you have an appetite for these and we'll call it even."

"Maybe in a few minutes, I want to be sure I can keep it down before ingesting more of it. " Sephiroth said sitting down next to the plate. "It is very good."

"Thanks... I spent years working on the recipe. It took a while to get the cider-apple-cinnamon combo right with my mother's batter recipe."

"What brand of Cider do you use?" Sephiroth asked, grateful for such a benign topic to focus his attention on.

"Mideel Hard. I would prefer Banora White Hard Cider but it's nearly impossible to get. I did manage to get my hands on one bottle, but it's too valuable to use for a pancakes"

She had used it on one occasion, the last time they made these pancakes, after the attempted Reunion, and Cloud had come home for good. That first breakfast she had splurged and added in Bonaran Hard... it had been heavenly. They had needed it.

"I would suspect so. I assume the town and the orchards are still recovering from ShinRa burning it to the ground," Sephiroth said darkly, remembering the reconnaissance pictures of the blackened apples next to fallen trees. A year before, he had promised Genesis he would go with him to Banora during the next apple harvest. Now that would never happen.

"ShinRa...? But I thought..." But Tifa stopped herself, shaking her head. "Of course."

"After his desertion Genesis took refuge there..." Sephiroth said.

"And let me guess." Tifa filled in, not needing much of an imagination, "to keep him from doing that again and/or to cover it up... they destroyed everything."

Sephiroth nodded. "Those trees do not grow anywhere else,"

"A few managed to survive and there's a small orchard now." Cloud informed Sephiroth. He'd delivered an apple presser up there (one of Strife Delivery's first), not long before Geostigma made itself known. The thing was so heavy he'd had to use their beat up truck, and he'd brought Tifa and Marlene along. They'd made a day of it, with a picnic lunch and even helping in the harvesting. The owners had been so grateful and enchanted by the little family... in addition to the delivery fee, they'd given them a bottle of the cider.

"There was one person who was able grow one outside of Banora," Sephiroth said not taking his eyes off the window. "My com - My friend, Angeal Hewley."

"Zack's mentor?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, he was Banoran native, He and Genesis grew up together as close as brothers." A small smile etched it's way across Sephiroth's face. These were happy memories, and he had to remind himself to just remember what he had and not what he had lost. "To remind him of home, Angeal had a little plot of land just outside Midgar where the soil was still good. One of the things he planted was a Banora white sapling. A birthday gift to him from Genesis."

Tifa, lost in her own memories from their day in the orchard and the sheer fun they'd had running amongst the tree and tasting that sweet fruit, murmured aloud, "Wouldn't it be strange if that one little tree survived?"

"I could go check, if you tell me where it would be."

"I wish..." Sephiroth said distantly almost wistfully. But then he shook his head and returned to his calm monotone. "No, it died a long time ago. After Angeal deserted, Zack took care of the garden. He did everything exactly as Angeal had done it, everything seemed fine. Then came the mission to Modeoheim. Angeal forced Zack to kill him before he would become the monster I eventually became. Keh..." Sephiroth snorted, frowning. "He was the only one that understood what would happen. How could the rest of us have been so blind?" He paused running a hand through his hair. "I promised Zack I would just check on the garden to make sure it would be alright while he was gone. It was so strange. One day I checked it, the little tree was just fine, but then when I went back the very next day. All of the leaves had fallen off and it was withered and bent as if someone had cut it from its roots. Not an hour later, I received the call that Angeal was dead."

Tifa blinked, feeling tears creep into her eyes... and even Cloud was looking at his feet or to his side... anywhere but Sephiroth and Tifa. So she knew he was welling up to.

Sephiroth shook his head, and his voice reclaimed it's stoic timbre again. "It would have not survived meteor fall in any case. Angeal's garden was in the impact radius.

"Such a waste..." Tifa whispered her thoughts, voice hoarse with emotion. So much life... so many hopes and dreams just flushed down the drain as if they were nothing. As if the people attached to them were valueless, when they'd been the legs ShinRa stood on.

"Yes..." Sephiroth nodded. Their eyes locked and... something akin to understanding seemed to be there.

"Where was this garden, anyway? I'd like to go pay my respects to Angeal. After all without him Zack may never have made as far into SOLDIER and then..." _I'd have been dead a long time ago._ Cloud truly believed he'd bo,rrowed Zack's strength during those years in the lab and after.

"10 miles from here going 30 degrees northeast towards Kalm." Sephiroth answered without hesitation.

Cloud committed those directions to memory, and then his stomach let out a loud reminder that his pancakes were getting cold downstairs.

"It sounds like your body may need fuel as well Cloud," Sephiroth gave Cloud a pointed look.

Said man was trying to his best to look unphased and stoic... but pink cheeks and ears gave him away.

Tifa shifted a little grinning, glad for the distraction because she wasn't exactly comfortable with having had a 'moment' with Sephiroth,"I'll grab your plate if you want to stay here with Sephiroth."

Cloud, worried about another attack raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Sephiroth gave them a confident nod. "My other half wore himself out, more than he did me. It takes an immense amount of energy to maintain that kind of rage."

Cloud felt he had no choice but to accept that, so made to follow Tifa back to breakfast, but he stopped in the doorway, head turned to the side so one eyes was looking at Sephiroth, "If either of them try again... just think about Genesis, keep him and your memories of him in focus and don't loose sight of them. That was my mistake with Geostigma" with that he walked away.

000

_Author's Note:_

_Chica's Chatter: Hooooooo boy! We be getting into some srs drama here! However it seems we're also getting a few chips in the wall between the three adults!_

_Vega's Vents: Luckily the kids are there to keep everyone happy!_


	7. Home Alone

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: For some reason this chapter got misplaced or deleted so I am reposting it just in case. It's an important chapter in the timeline of things, it builds the relationship between Seph and the kids and explains why Tifa and Cloud are willing to help Seph get on his feet in later chapters. Plus Seph reading the bedtime story to Marlene is just damn cute. Sorry about the mix up!_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions_

Try Try Again 6

Sephiroth stared at his reflection in the mirror and did not like what he saw.

It had been just a little over a week since his rebirth and coming to live with Cloud and Tifa. He had spent most of it just trying to re-acclimate to just being alive and regaining his strength, requiring a lot of rest and sleep.

Now he was starting to feel like his old self again, at least physically, but now it begged the question, where to go from here? What did he want to do with his life from here on in? He would have to make a living independently somehow. The last thing he wanted to be was a parasite to those who had shown him mercy. But where should he even start?

Before all of those choices had been made for him and he did not permit himself to indulge himself in things that would never happen. Before he had belonged to ShinRa and he would have been their hero, general, poster boy and nothing else until the day he died.

Then fate intervened in the strangest of ways. Jenova's influence and his one moment of weakness at Nibelheim had single-handily changed the course of their planet's future and the futures of those upon it, none more so than himself.

No he did not like his reflection at all. He had to change something and he knew just what. His bangs were far too long. Once long ago when he was still the hero his bangs had barely touched past his jaw, now they stretched all of the way past his chest. Just like Jenova.

Logically hair should not have bearing on one's personality, but some how the longer bangs distorted the the image of his face to make it seem longer, his cheekbones and nose harsher and the shadows around his eyes darker, making his green tinted catslit eyes glow in a sinister manner. All the perfect picture of a grim archetypal of a villain, like in the plays Genesis used to read.

Perhaps cutting off the lengthened tresses would help restore some semblance of his old self and dispel the sinister face in the mirror. The rest of his hair would remain intact with perhaps the occasional trim if it started to grow too far past his hips and became a nuisance. That decision was all part of a promise he had made to Genesis to always keep it long. The one promise he could still keep.

Meanwhile, downstairs Cloud and Tifa were enjoying their morning cup of coffee. Cloud was due to make a delivery that day, but they always tried to make time for each other whenever they could. The main discussion that morning was about the kids starting school the day after next.

Their reverie was interrupted by the quiet, but heavy footsteps of Sephiroth coming downstairs and entering the kitchen.

"Cloud could I borrow your scissors in the bathroom?" He asked nonchalantly.

Immediately the two tensed, their hands tightening around their mugs. Sephiroth asking for a sharp object was not a good thing.

"Why?" Cloud asked dubiously.

"I wish to shorten my bangs, they are obtrusively long." Sephiroth answered simply.

Cloud frowned as he gazed at Sephiroth's bangs, and he supposed if his own were that long he'd cut them as well. He vaguely remembered Sephiroth's bangs being shorter back in his SOLDIER days when he was still the image of a hero. Now with his bangs long like that Sephiroth looked the image of the villain Cloud had come to loath. "Alright, go ahead-" Cloud said with some reluctance.

"I can do it for you." Tifa offered. "I have a whole kit."

Sephiroth stiffened, looking more than a little hesitant. "Uh I would rather do it myself I have no reference pictures for you for the style I want and if an error is made I would rather it be all my own."

"You think I don't remember what you looked like...?" Tifa asked, tone incredulous and irritated, "Besides who do you think does my hair? And the kids?"

Sephiroth still looked hesitant, though part of him wanted somebody else to do it since he had no hair cutting experience of his own. At the same time, Tifa had it in for him just as Cloud did and she just might take it into her head to lob his hair off in an act of vengeance. He couldn't let that happen, he had promised he would always keep it long.

"Can I... trust you...?" He asked, eyeing her perceptively.

"Do I seem the kind of person who stabs someone else in the back?" Okay... maybe at first it might have crossed her mind... but honestly. If she was going to get back at Sephiroth it would be face to face, fist to fist.

Sephiroth absently toyed with a bit of his hair in between his fingers. "It is not my back I am concerned about."

This amused Tifa to the point of nearly laughing. That someone like Sephiroth could be so worried about something so superficial as his hair, tickled her funny bone for some reason. perhaps because it took the 'legend' to down to something more... human.

"And I wouldn't take it out on your hair, either."

Sephiroth let out a reluctant sigh, but nodded. "Very well."

Tifa directed him to her and Cloud's bathroom, the largest in the house with the best mirrors and lighting. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a little bag and a folded sheet underneath it. From the containing scissors, a mirror, comb and a shaver. As she was just looking at working on Sephiroth's bangs, she put the shaver and mirror aside.

Sephiroth grabbed a chair from the bedroom and set it up in the bathroom before uneasily sitting down. Tifa took the sheet and wrapped it around his shoulders to ensure no errant hairs got on his clothes or skin.

Tife then disappeared back into her bedroom. There was the sound of rummaging and papers rustling, not to mention some feint mumblings... until there was an extended moment of silence and she reappeared in the bathroom, a photograph clenched in her hand.

"What's that...?" Sephiroth asked motioning to the photo in her hand

Tifa stared at him, expression blank, "The only picture I have of you..." She held it out. In it there were three figures. Tifa in her Nibelheim guide get-up, smiling and looking thrilled as she stood with a painfully familiar figure sporting raven black spikes and a toothy, welcoming smile even in his SOLDIER 1st Uniform and Sephiroth himself.

Sephiroth felt his heart stop and then sink into the pit of his stomach. "You still have this?"

"It was in my pocket... at the reactor. Almost burned it when I burned that outfit." She didn't bother to mention she burned the outfit to keep warm...

Sephiroth felt his eyes sting a little as he ran his hand over the picture. Since awakening his past life had been nothing but foggy memories and dreams, but now here it was right in front of his face, their last moment of happiness and sanity captured so vividly, he felt as if he could step into it. He wished more than anything that he could, to shake his past self and prevent him from going to that reactor at all costs.

His fingers stopped at Zack. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, hoping that perhaps up there in the lifestream Zack would hear him.

Sephiroth let out a calming breath and set the picture on the sink counter. Zack knew he was sorry and had forgiven him, after all it was the raven haired warrior who had helped in getting him a second chance in the first place.

Sephiroth glanced at Tifa, who looked a little overcome herself. "Are you sure you are focused enough?"

Tifa seemed to come out of a daze, but she nodded and took a deep breathe of her own. Mentally she reminded herself why she needed the picture and propped it up against the mirror. She grabbed the scissors and turned to face Sephiroth.

"Remember," Sephiroth said in all seriousness, meeting her eyes in the mirror, "I'm trusting you. It is just as hard for me as it is for you."

"I'll be slow. So you can stop me if I start to go too short." All business. It took the edge off a little bit.

"Agreed." He said with a curt nod.

Sephiroth remained as silent and still as a statue though he watched Tifa like a hawk in the mirror. Her work was slow but steady and quiet for the most part, figuring he would stop her if adn when it was appropriate. Her eyes occasionally flicked to the picture to check or she'd bring her current bang out and compare it to his jawbone.

As she was starting on the second bang, a smile bloomed across her face as a rather humrous irony came to her, a whiff of her old life. At Sephiroth's grand arrival in her hometown, Tifa remembered after her initial disappointment that the other SOLIDER 1st was Zack not Cloud, she'd been dying to get her hands in that soft shiny river of silver hair. Just like Marlene and Denzel. The long silver mane being as famous as the man himself, she and Zack had a whole conspiracy worked for it (not that they would have seriously gone through with it, but it was fun to plot, and Zack's scheme was as hilarious as it was ingenious).

And now here she was...

"Something funny?" Sephiroth quirked and eyebrow at her sudden smile.

"Hm?" Tifa asked.

"You are smiling all of sudden," He said.

"Oh... just an irony that struck me. Sorry."

"Don't be you are doing well," He said fingering one of the finished bangs. Tifa accepted his compliment with a slight dipping of her head She stepped back a moment with her current bang and compared it first to his jawline but then also to his first bang.

"A little shorter on this side," Sephiroth remarked . Tifa trimmed it a bit and then double checked to make sure they matched exactly, knowing Sephiroth would require symmetry.

When she had completed the task, Sephiroth examined his bangs from side to side and ran his fingers through them a few times before nodding. "It looks as it should, well done. Thank you"

"You're welcome."

000

Tifa looked urgently at her watch. Where the hell was Cloud? It was 4:05pm and sure she perhaps was getting a little over antsy since he was only five minutes late, but she had to meet her supplier and get everything squared away before the bar opened at 6 and the jerk supplier wasn't willing to have the kids come a long, too much of a liability he said.

The kids had been left home alone before with no trouble, and Cloud was due back any minute. Then there was Sephiroth... although right now he was keeping himself occupied on Cloud's laptop filling himself in on the happenings and goings on on Gaia since his death and sealing any gaps of information he had not gotten from the other souls in the lifestream.

And she did notice that once that man got focused on something you had to literally go up and prod him in the shoulder before he would even take notice of you.

And after all Cloud would be home any minute right?

"Kids!" Tifa called out, and the two came obediently running in. "I gotta run and meet with my supplier, Cloud should be home any minute, but until then you're to follow the 'Home Alone' rules to the letter."

"You can count on us!" Marlene cheered.

"What about Sephiroth?" Denzel asked.

"Just leave him be in his room," Tifa explained, throwing some things in her purse, "If he comes down just explain what's going on, but don't go disturbing him okay?"

Both children nodded and Tifa made a quick departure out the door.

What should have been any minute turned into an hour. And neither Cloud or Tifa had returned home. Denzel looked pensively at the clock. If Tifa or Cloud didn't arrive home soon there wouldn't be enough time to make dinner before Tifa had to open the bar, and she wouldn't have time to eat.

"What do we do Denzel?" Marlene looked worriedly at him. "We already tried Cloud, he's not picking up."

"We could try Tifa, but if she's talking to her supplier the call could louse things up." Denzel said scratching his head. "We could make dinner ourselves."

"But we're not allowed to use kitchen stuff without adult suppervision!" Marlene corrected despite her mispronounciation.

Denzel snapped his fingers. "Sephiroth! He's an adult! He could watch us!"

Marlene nodded vigorously and followed Denzel up the stairs. This time they remembered Cloud's words about letting Sephiroth know of their presence ahead of time and knocked on the door.

Sephiroth opened the door and looked at the children expectantly.

"Sephiroth it's getting late Tifa might not get dinner before she needs to open the bar!" Marlene tugged at his pant leg in an effort to direct him to the kitchen.

"Cloud'll probably be starving when he gets home too..." Denzel called.

Sephiroth looked a little surprised and little perturbed. Tifa had told him she was heading out to meet her supplier, but Cloud was supposed to be back by now. If they had intended to for him to play babysitter they could have at least given him a little more warning so he could plan a strategy accordingly or at least find a proper dinner recipe.

His mind ran through his memory for anything he could cook easily. He remembered a recipe from Angeal that was quick, simple, and rather tasty and could be made with a variety of ingredients as along as the proportions were kept the same.

"If there are some items left in the fridge I can attempt to cook something," Sephiroth said.

The children smiled and they all headed down stairs and into the kitchen. Sephiroth opened the door to fridge and peered inside. While a little sparse since the weekly groceries had not been picked up yet, the fridge still had some basics from all the nutritional categories. Carrots, potatoes, onions, bits of beef...

"I think I can make something of this," Sephiroth said and the children beamed at him.

"Can I help?" Denzel said.

"Me too!" Marlene chirped.

"Very well, Marlene you set the table. Denzel find me a large 20qt pot, about 12 inches in diameter and a depth of 10 inches." Sephiroth calmly ordered.

"Okay..." Denzel said slowly the detailed instructions going a little over his head.

At Denzel's perplexed look Sephiroth had to remind himself that these were children and not trained recruits. "Find me something large enough to cook some sort of stew in."

Denzel brightened up. "Got'cha!"

Having given the children their assignments Sephiroth gathered the food out of the fridge and placed the items on the counter. He decided to start with the onions since they were the most unpleasant task. He looked in all of the nearby cupboards and found a cutting board, searched for something to cut the onion with.

He opened one of the doors and found the utensils. He pulled one of the knives and examined it. It was the first time that he had handled anything close to a weapon since his awakening. He thought of Masamune locked away somewhere in the house. He wondered if his precious sword was all right and if Cloud was taking care of it like he had promised. He felt something burning in the pit of his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. This was no time for an attack, the children were nearby and he would sooner plunge the knife into his own heart than hurt them.

After all they were the image everything good that he still honored, everything that kept him steady and grounded to reality and kept the psychotic voices at bay. And he would not allow their innocence to be destroyed as quickly as his had been.

He brought the knife down, and expertly chopped the onion into equal sized pieces.

000

Tifa finally arrived home, delayed not just by the fact her supplier (for reasons very painfully obvious to Tifa) was a single, childless man who didn't care about the responsibilities of those in the opposite category could only be bargained with if you let him yack for far too long, but driving back had realized she had next to no food other then the bar's. So she had intended a quick stop, but finding everything in an unfamiliar store was more difficult then she'd palnend on, and then there was those damn check-out lines...

But she was home now and glad of it. Pulling to a stop outside, so she could carry in the groceries. Hopefully Cloud was fixing dinner so she could eat before opening the bar...

Except... Fenrir was pulling in right behind her, as she was lifting a couple of the bags out of the truck bed.

"Cloud?"

"Tifa?"

"Did you have to run a quick errand or something?" She asked hopefully.

"I got delayed on the way back from my delivery didn't you get my message?" Cloud said looking little worried at where this coversation was going.

Tifa nearly dropped her bag, a sick feeling twisting in her gut.

"No I didn't! I thought you'd be back any minute!"

"How long have you been gone?" Cloud demanded, eyes wide.

"Since four!" There was a mutual moment of stunned silence. The kids had been left alone for almost and hour with... Sephiroth.

"Shit! " They declared unanimously, before making a bolt inside, where they heard voices from the kitchen so headed in that direction, stopping just outside and peeking in.

Sephiroth stood at the stove stirring something in a large pot, Denzel was sitting on the kitchen counter, and Marlene sat coloring at the kitchen table.

Sephiroth took a sip from a ladle before passing it to Denzel, "What do you think?"

"Mmmmmmmm, needs salt." The boy pronounced his judgement.

"I agree." Sephiroth nodded.

"Right counter, next to the pepper right up front!" Marlene called not looking up from her drawing. Sephiroth added just a touch, more could always be added but too salty was tricky to fix.

Cloud slowly entered with Tifa waiting a minute so it wasn't quite so obvious they had been panicking over something that at first glance appeared to be nothing. He subtly checked everything over to be certain that all was truly well.

"Hey... everyone."

"Hi!" Marlene trilled out, face shining, "Cloud, Tifa look at the picture I drew!"

"Oh, another masterpiece is it?" Tifa asked as she approached the picture

"Uh-Huh, I drew Cloud as a Chocobo!" The little girl explained with a happy smile.

"Oooh let me see!" Tifa said, and Marlene required no further encouragement to show the drawing off.

"Thanks Marlene... I look very... birdy..." Cloud said dryly with a slightly strained smile.

"I think we should put it on the refrigerator." Tifa added with a sly smile in Cloud's direction, earning her a nasty look, but she just giggled.

"Not yet! Gotta add you to it Tifa!"

"Me...?"

"Yep!" Marrlene said, grabbing some dark crayons, "Can't have Cloud without you! Hold on!" Slowly Tifa's form begins to take form on the paper alongside Cloud, holding hands it seemed... except Tifa had floppy puppy ears... and a black puppy-dog nose.

"Awww! you make such a cute puppy." Cloud said with a toothy grin as he patted her dark head, enjoying his revenge. Tifa glared at him and flicked the back of his hand.

"Nice of you to say, Chocobo-butt!"

"Dinner is ready." Sephiroth timely interrupted the pre-squabble. It had the intended effect and the pair had a seat at the table, Marlene setting aside her drawing materials and grabbing spoons and napkins for everyone.

"I hope I did not overstep my bounds, but the hour was growing late and the children were worried you wouldn't have time to eat before you had to open Seventh Heaven." Placing a bowl of soup in front of each of them. "I saw some things in the fridge that could be utilized and a comrade's recipe who was very good at makeing use of left overs.

"No no, it's your fridge too, after all... Sorry about dumping our little monsters on you-"

"Hey!" Both kids chimed in looking a little indignant to say the least.

"-but my supplier just had to go and be a jerk, and insist on a face to face today. And I didn't realize Cloud got held up." Tifa was a teasign grin to the kids who just turned their backs on her. She slowly took spoon full, and takes a taste sip. The tastes splashing across her taste buds was warm, complex... and WONDERFUL!

While Sephiroth placed bowls in front of the children, he noticed Cloud looking at him strangely. "What? Have I something on my face?"

Cloud blinked and mentally kicked himself for being caught staring. He tried to pass it off with a soft laugh. "I'm sorry it's just weird seeing you be so... domestic"

Sephiroth shrugged. "My culinary skills are limited, but Angeal insisted I learn a few things in case I... ever got married." He smirked an chuckled a little at the good thoughts of his old friend. "Though the skills he taught came in handy during parts of the war. When you are occupying a small village in the middle of no where in Wutai you learn to get creative to make whatever sustenance you had edible."

"AVALANCHE had to do the same..." Cloud muttered. "No one complained."

"Much..." Tifa sighed, "Too bad we didn't have Angeal around, this is way better."

"You did pretty good, with what we had. Cid, too"

"It is his "Everything, but the sink" recipe," Sephiroth explained. "Based more on ratios than specific ingredients."

"Makes sense. Can't measure when you're pitched in the middle of nowhere with whatever happens to be growing or living there."

"Some things were less edible than others" Sephiroth said with a wry smile on his face.

"Tell me about it..." The other two agreed.

"This is good." Denzel said in between bites.

"It's a nice change too, eating something besides my own cooking." Tifa joked, but it was also true. Cloud could cook a few basic recipes, but Tifa was really the cook. Cloud nodded in agreement, downing another spoonful

"Yeah! You cook better than Cloud, Sephy!" Marlene chirped.

"Well they always said you knew everything there Sephy..." Cloud shot towards his former idol.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, but there is a challenging smirk on his face. "Touche... Spikey..."

Tifa wanted to laugh some more, but seeing the look at Cloud's face at hearing Zack's former nick name for him coming Sephiroth's mouth, she could sense a male pissing contest coming on, and quickly intervened. "So kids, only a week till school starts!"

The children, predictably looked at her, clearly begging her not to do this cruel, cruel thing.

"C'mmon you two," she said half-laughing, "It won't be that bad!"

Cloud mumbled something that was indistinct to all but Tifa, and it earned him a sharp kick under the table.

Sephiroth never one to miss weaknesses in some one noticed Cloud's wince in. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." Cloud said, rubbing the spot,

They sat in comfortable silence, eating their dinner, until Tifa, seeing the kitchen clock, gobbled down the rest of hers and stood up.

"Denzel, after everyone is finished you're on dish duty tonight, and you and Marlene need to be in bed by nine! Need you to get on a school sleeping schedule." She directed. Though Denzel did not look too worried about the washing as Sephiroth being the creature of efficiency he was had washed most everything as he went along so it only left the pot and the bowls and the silverware left.

Cloud quickly finished his dinner too and headed up stairs eager to wash off the dust and dirt from the road.

"Tifa... can I have a bedtime story later?" Marlene begged of her guardian.

"Oh sweetie, By the time I close Seventh heaven that'll be way too late. Maybe later see if Cloud will be willing."

"K!" Marlene cried, darting off with her colors and paper, having finished her supper. But when Tifa made to look for Cloud, she could hear their shower running, meant Cloud would most likely crash after that. Tifa let out a sigh. No choice.

"Hey Sephiroth... can ask you to do something for me?"

"Yes, what do you need?" The silver haired man quirked an eyebrow.

"Could you read Marlene a story for bed around 9:00? Cloud's had a long day and I'll be busy with the bar."

Sephiroth gave her an uncertain look, as the concept of reading a bedtime story was completely foreign to him. Although he had occasionally read plays with Genesis, to amuse his red headed Songbird, perhaps it was something like that. He nodded back. "Anything in particular I should read to her."

"There's a book of fairy tales from all over Gaia on her shelf, pick one of those and she'll be happy."

Sephiroth nodded and went to help Denzel with the dishes.

When the time came made his way upstairs to Marlene's room. The little girl appeared dressed in pink pajamas with yellow chocobo chicks printed on them,, breathe still smelling of mint from her toothpaste. All ready for bed. She immediately beamed when she saw the visitor to her room.

"Are _you_ gonna read to me, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth nodded ushering her toward her bed. "Yes Tifa said you would like something read to you. What is your preference."

"Yeah!" She hopped into bed,snuggling under a pink blanket that had dancing pink ribbons. She pointed to a rather large book on the nightstand by her bed, "Pick one!"

Sephiroth picked up the red book with gold writing on the cover. It reminded him greatly of Genesis' first edition of LOVLESS. A book that was now buried under the ruins of the empire along with all the dreams and hopes and bright futures of hundreds of people. How ironic.

He sat down, book in hand on the side of the bed at Marlene's feet. He opened the book and began reading the first story he saw.

_The Giant Dragon_.

He began reading the opening paragraph, his voice even and completely devoid of inflection, in other words the proper monotone he used when reading mission reports.

"Nonono! That's not how you read!" Marlene cried, looking rather vexed

"Have I picked the wrong story?" He asked raising a perturbed eyebrow.

"No, no, the story's good!" And she confirmed her honesty with a smile, "But you're not reading it right! Daddy and Tifa always make voices!"

"Voices?" Sephiroth titled his head at her a little perplexed.

"Yep! Like the dragon has big deep voice and the little girl has a high voice. You need more infection." She said with a judicious nod.

"Infection...?" Sephiroth said slowly, now even more confused. He reminded himself that she was a child and that they sometimes mispronounced big words. He puzzled over what she was trying to say recalling his play reciting nights with Genesis. His lover had also mentioned something about voices. What was the word...? "You mean inflection?"

"Right!" And she giggled at herself, "Inflection. Here! Let me show you!"

"Ah I see, it's like a play." Sephiroth nodded.

"Exactly!"

"Then I think you would be better at playing the little girl than me," He said pointing to one of the book's pictures. The little painted girl did bare a little resemblance to Marlene and looked to be the same age.

"Okay, but only if you do the dragon!

"Fair enough." Sephiroth conceded.

"And come sit by me!" She patted the space next to her on the bed up by the pillows.

Sometime later, Tifa had a few moment between finishing up her set up and the rush of regulars, she crept upstairs. Sephiroth had done extremely well, all things considered. But still...

She quietly peaked through the open door and looked on in surprise at the sight. Sephiroth was reading a passage from the book with Marlene listening intently nestled in the crook of his arm. Even Tifa had to admit the tones of Sephiroth's deep voice when calm and soft were quite soothing.

_And the little girl cried out to the villagers_...

"_'This dragon is my friend!" _Marlene read acting out the little girl. _"He took care of me and protected me until I could come home safely."_

"_The dragon stepped forward to stand proudly at the little girl's side." _Sephrioth read and deepened his voice to imitate the dragon._ "She fixed my injured wing, where as the rest of you would have done away with me out of fear, she braved the mountains everyday until I was healed. For her I shall protect this village from those who mean it harm."_

"_The villagers still looked hesitant and uncertain and those who had them, did not lower their weapons. The dragon turned to the little girl sadly. "Xiaolian, I am still not welcome here, I must go, but you are welcome to visit me anytime you wish."_

Marlene took over without missing a bit_, "The little girl looked heartbroken... but she wished her friend to be happy, so the little girl told him. "Don't worry, I'll tell all my friends about what a good dragon you are, and maybe, when we are grown, you can come live with us.' "_

_Not one year later the village was attacked by an army of an opposing Lord. The girl was about to be killed by warriors from the enemy faction, when the dragon appeared and drove the enemy faction away with fire and sharp claws._

"_The little girl smiled and greeted her friend with a hug on his snout, 'I knew you'd protect me!' And she hugged him even tighter"_

_"Dragons never forget their promises and neither do friends." The dragon said._

"_The little girl led the dragon to the villagers, who greeted him with great thanks and joy for his rescue. And ever more the dragon was protector of the village and protected by the villagers."_

"The End." Sephiroth Said softly and closed the book. His co-reader let out a happy sigh as she was once more tucked in under the blankets.

"Anything else to help you sleep?" He asked.

"No thank you" She murmured, then seemed to consider Seph, before giggling.

"What...?" Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow.

"You know the dragon reminds me a lot of you."

"Me? Why?"

"'Cause! Even though he looks mean and 'scary... he's really nice underneath, and brave."

"Huh..." Sephiroth said his mind trailing back in fond remembrance. Only three other people had said that about him. Only three and two of them were dead, and the third was lost to him, hiding amongst the millions of other faces across the planet. One day he would find him.

"Well.. that's what I think anyway." She yawned again, "Night Sephiroth!"

"Sleep well, Marlene." He bid her quietly.

"You too!" Marlene then held out her arms for her customary good-night hug.

"You need something else?"

"A hug!"

Sephiroth furrowed his brow. "Why are you going somewhere?"

"Just to sleep. We always give hugs at bedtime!"

"Hmmm, I thought they were just for greetings and good-byes..." And other things he added in his mind, but they were far too... intimate to mention to a child.

"Didn't your Mama or Daddy do this at bedtime?"

Sephiroth froze for a moment, as he always did when his "family" was mentioned, but he managed to keep his face neutral. "No... My mother died shortly after I was born and my father did not believe in... hugs."

"That's so sad...!" Marlene cried, looked devastated on behalf of Sephiroth. She ALWAYS loved getting her hugs and Tifa, her Pappa Barret and sometimes Cloud, were always happy to oblige.

"Yes," He said allowing some sadness to show in his eyes. There was something about the children, Marlene especially that made him feel he did not have to hide his less than desirable emotions. "But that is why these bedtime rituals for children are a bit foreign to me." He explained.

Marlene got a determined expression before climbing out of the covers and standing on the bed, and remembering the rules, asked, "Permission to hug?"

Sephiroth blinked at her imitation of SOLDIER formality and almost laughed. "Granted."

Marlene wrapped her little arms around Sephiroth's neck and attempted to give him one of her father's 'squishy hugs'. Her favorite whenever he was around.

She forewent the raspberry to the cheek though.

Sephiroth hesitated for a moment. It had been a long time since he had been embraced like this, whether it was Genesis' loving embrace, or one of Angeal's one armed greetings or Zack's infamous puppy glomp. It felt good to know such companionship once more.

Carefully Sephiroth wrapped his arms around her and hugged back.

Meanwhile, just outside the door, Tifa smiled.

000


	8. Late Night Musings

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions_

Try Try Again 7

_Sephiroth and Genesis dashed towards the reactor's exit. What they were running from he did not know, but he knew enough that it was dangerous, and if they did not escape they would be destroyed._

_They came outside only to find themselves on the edge of a balcony 50 stories up from the ground and no other way out._

_It was coming._

"_Do you, think we can make it?" Sephiroth said._

"_Of course," Genesis said, a smirk playing on his lips, his face free of all signs of the degradation that had cracked his perfect complexion like a porcelain tea cup carelessly dropped on the floor._

"_We have jumped from higher heights than this in a helicopter and now," he stepped back and unfurled his wing. "And now we have wings to fly to the stars."_

_Still quite the poet._

_Sephiroth looked to his right shoulder. Sure enough his wing was unfurled and ready to fly, though he didn't remember calling it out in the first place. He jumped off the ledge and lifted into the air._

_Genesis flapped his wing and made to follow, but from the entrance of the of the reactor, __tentacle-like streams of blue and green light lashed out. __The streams wrapped themselves around Genesis and began dragging him back toward the abyss of the reactor._

_Genesis strained against his bonds reaching for Sephiroth. Everywhere the streams touched__,__ the degradation took hold of his body once more further weakening his efforts to escape._

_Sephiroth reached for his beloved, but despite the strong beating of his wing, he could not get any closer._

_Their finger tips, but barely touched when a mighty jerk from the streams of green light pulled Genesis back into the reactor. His eyes were full of fear, and his arm still reaching out toward Sephiroth. And then he was gone._

_A cruel laugh of sadistic victory echoed in Sephiroth's head. And he realized with horror that it was his own voice._

"_Genesis...!"_

000

_Her town was engulfed in flames heating her skin in the flimsy outfit she was wearing. She was running, running towards the source of all this, breathing heaving in her throat, her master's cries to stop as she ran forward ringing in her ears along with rushing blood._

_And there... there lying in front of the reactor was her father's blood staining the ground beneath his body as well as the sword pierced into the ground. Heavy in her arms she forced it loose, and followed the bloody footprints to find the one with those cat slitted jade eyes that gleamed with a smug malice just for her..._

"_I hate it. ShinRa... SOLDIER, you too... I hate it all!"_

Tifa awoke with a start, sweat streaming down her face.

She let out a quiet but ragged breathe before palming her eyes, the feeling Cloud's warmth next to her the only thing that had kept her from screaming. It had been years since she'd had a nightmare about Nibelheim. Which wasn't to say she didn't have nightmares, but hers usually involved Sector 7 or the attempted reunion, Nibelheim was usually kept safely locked away in a corner of her mind. Tifa wasn't sure at what point she'd done that, other than sometime after she first came to Midgar, figuring it to be a defense mechanism so her psyche could deal with the reality of her life as a 'slum rat.' It was... a bleak reality, happy memories made it worse. By the time Cloud reappeared, her mind had readjusted and Nibelheim remained in the corner because it was the past, or so she told herself.

Not wanting to wake Cloud with all her shaking, Tifa carefully came out from under his arm and made her way downstairs and towards the kitchen.

A 'big kids' drink was in order.

Obviously, Tifa NEVER pilfered Heaven's supplies or allowed others (meaning Yuffie) to pilfer, but tonight called for a 'Cherry Chaser', her favorite comfort drink, and she, in her distracted state, had allowed the personal supplies for that to run out, leaving only Heaven's. And she HAD paid for them, so she could justify it.

"Tifa?"

Tifa nearly jumped out of her skin, having entered their kitchen, as the voice that terrorized her in her dreams spoke out in real life. She whirled around to meet a pair of green eyes, those same eyes that had glared at her with such reckless hate. But these eyes held none of that now; in fact, they held more surprised in than anything else.

Tifa fumbled against the wall and finally found a light switch, not having bothered before. Sephiroth was sitting at the dining table in the kitchen holding a glass of water.

"Are you trying to scare me to death?" she quietly railed at him, jumpy and in a foul tempter.

Sephiroth shook his head. "No. That was not my intention."

Tifa, breathing still a touch ragged, demanded next, "What are you doing down here in the dark?"

"Bad dream and I could not get back to sleep." Sephiroth said simply. Tifa sighed, blowing a bang out of her face, but could not deny it was reasonable.

"I was just going to fix myself a drink..."

"Do not let my presence stop you."

Tifa disappeared into the bar, where she rummaged around before returning with a yellow liquid in a bottle labeled 'Chartreuse' as well as some cherries and lemon juice. Expertly she mixed the yellow chartreuse - a liquor that began as sweet then became spicy and pungent - with the bitter lemon juice, then she threw in some ice before adding in a few cherries in a cocktail glass. She took hold of the glass, preparing to take a big gulp, but catching sight of Sephiroth watching her, stopped before she'd raised the glass. She felt silly, drinking by herself.

"Drink?" She asked. Sephiroth shook his head, so Tifa raised her glass in a semi-salute before downing a rather large gulp.

"Forgive my silence, I am a bit lost." Sephiroth said quietly after a while. His answer was a head-shake, the martial artist was more than happy to sit in silence. She took another, much smaller swallow, eyes trained on the ceiling.

"So... what has you lost." Tifa dared to ask.

Sephiroth steepled his fingers under his nose and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Not knowing what my next step should be. Well, more correctly, I know what it is, I am just not sure how to go about it."

"Next step...?"

"To truly begin my new life. But I am not sure what I am good for," he looked from her to down at the table, "I know little past war and killing. That was all ShinRa wanted me to know."

"That's all _they_ were good for." Tifa answered, tone even.

"Though as General I did handle a lot of paperwork. SOLDIER reviews, mission reports and the like. Logically I suppose I could be a secretary or something." He said thoughtfully, though sounding none too enthusiastic.

Tifa steeled her nerves with another sip, "Would that make you happy?"

"What does happiness have to do with my job?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.

"_Everything." _ Tifa told him bluntly, feeling pleasantly warm and loose, "You should enjoy how you earn gil, it should be one of the reasons you get up in the morning. That's the whole point of... this. Isn't it?"

"I suppose... I wouldn't know, my job was sort of chosen for me." He said, an edge of bitterness creeping into his voice. Tifa sighed, putting her glass aside. It would probably be wise to remember this conversation tomorrow. Dang it!

"If you could do anything, anything at all, what would you want do?" She posed to him, figuring it was the place to start him thinking.

Sephiroth blinked a few times. The only other person who had asked that was Genesis, but back then he was tied to ShinRa so he sort of blew off the question. Now there was a choice. He thought hard, what did he want to do..? After a moment it came to him.

"Well..." He shook his head. "No it's impossible..."

"You and me sitting here, having a civilized conversation is impossible." Tifa shot back with a tiny smile tweaking on her lips, "What are you thinking?"

Sephiroth eyed her suspiciously. "You'll laugh...

Tifa promptly rose out of her seat, crossed her heart, reciting dutifully, "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a hot Bandersnatch tooth in my eye I will not laugh."

"I don't think I've heard that version of a vow before?" Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow.

"That's what happens when your only constant companions for months is two kids."

Sephiroth let out a breath nodding, "I see. Well, a long time ago at the height of the Wutai war an assassin's bullet hit me in the chest, puncturing my left lung and nicking my heart. Dr. Jared Raker of the trauma unit opened up my chest, fixed my lung, drained it, re-inflated it, and put a muscle patch on my heart, all the while still keeping me alive on the operating table. And I made a full recovery. Miraculous work. In the trauma units of the battle field, life and death hang on every decision you make and how fast you make it. I learned that killing is easy. Saving a life that is real skill. I think... I think I should like to be a part of that."

"That's... very noble." And surprising, but that was neither here nor there, "So, why don't you do it?"

A thoughtful look graced Sephiroth's face. "It would be a nice change to save lives instead of destroy them. And the heat of an emergency room would satisfy my SOLDIER... How did Zack put it? 'adrenaline junkie' side." The brief mention of Zack brought smiles to both their faces. But then Sephiroth frowned again, as a seemingly insurmountable obstacle occurred to him. "But no matter which position I go into, there is always intensive schooling in the medical field. What school would accept me? I am public enemy number 1."

"Where's the famous determination? You're already giving up too easily." Tifa took a deep breathe, "As for Public Enemy #1... that would be ShinRa's spot. Only AVALANCHE and the top ShinRa echelon know about... the other you. The general populace think General Sephiroth died in the Nibelhiem Reactor Incident."

Sephiroth's eyebrows raised a little at that. "Really? The populace does not know I sent Meteor then?"

"The official ShinRa line was that you, the trooper, aka Cloud, and fellow First Zack Fair were all killed in a reactor malfunction." A bitter scoff, "They even rebuilt the whole town... right down to my mother's piano, to cover up the truth."

"Sounds like them," Sephiroth said soberly.

"Certain details did get revealed, like the full scale of the destruction of Nibelheim. Hojo's experiments on Cloud and Zack. But AVALANCHE had a long talk... we felt that it was time for heroes, and that it was best if the public kept its legend."

"That was very...charitable" Sephiroth said, then after a thoughtful pause, spoke again. "I wonder if Raker or Harley or Sushutra are still alive, they might be able to help me achieve my ultimate goal."

"Raker...?" Tifa seemed to be pondering something, frowning in thought as she looked into her glass.

.

"Dr. Jarrod Raker yes," Sephiroth nodded. "Used to be chief trauma surgeon of ShinRa . He was often called the 'Sephiroth' of the medical corps."

"He's still a doctor." Tifa told him, looking up, "When... Cloud came out from the Lifestream the first time, Dr. Raker was one of the doctors who helped treat him. Gave his phone number to me, just in case. When Denzel popped up, I called him. But there was nothing anyone could do."

"What a small world we live in." Sephiroth said with a slightly rueful expression on his face. "I'm glad to hear he was not a victim of Jenova's rampage. Does he still live in Kalm?"

"I think so, at least the number I used is a Kalm number. He was visiting family but when the staff realized what Cloud's illness was, they asked him to come in."

"Poor Raker, always getting called in even on vacation. Another thing we had in common." Sephiroth said dryly. Tifa flushed slightly... after all when they had mentioned Raker to her and his work with SOLDIER, she'd all but begged the staff to get him.

But she didn't regret it.

"Very well I will call him as soon as possible." Sephiroth said.

"You'll need something while you go through school." Tifa pointed out, not unkindly. She had slogged her own way through Bar School, her job at the time had not been one she was proud of... but it had made enough to keep her fed, a roof over her head, out of Don Corneo's hands, and her butt in school.

"What?"

"You'll need a job while you're going through school. Money for books, supplies, stuff like that."

"Right..." Sephiroth rested his forehead against his fist. "One thing I never had to worry about in SOLDIER. I'm sure I can find something."

"Well..." Tifa could not believe she was about to do this, "Cloud and I always need help with the office end of Strife Delivery and 7th Heaven. As if you couldn't tell by his office..." It was true. "If you can stand it until you get done with school."

Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise. "You wouldn't mind having me as your secretary?"

"I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous... but you've been respectful, undemanding... A saint with the kids all things considered... and I know now you're fighting your own inner demon. I'm willing to go a little further out on a limb for you." She then gave the tiniest briefest smile... but it was a smile.

And to Tifa's surprise Sephiroth flashed her a faint, but genuine smile back.

000

Chica: Now see, this is why we keep Marlene around. Right here.

VegaSailor: Yeah! They're going to need all of the cuteness they can get when Cloud finds out what they've got planned!

Chica: Ayep! Just a smidge...

Marlene: I can do it!

Chica *pets her*: If not you, no one!

Vega: Yeah... Good luck with that...


	9. First Day of School

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions_

Try Try Again 8

The First Day of School

Tifa awoke early to a _very_ annoying alarm, wrapped once more in Cloud's embrace, and she felt a smile tug at her lips as she slammed the alarm off. She pulled their red-and-white checkered comforter tighter to them even as Cloud snugged her closer to his nice warm body. For a moment she wondered why she had set her alarm to this unholy hour, but quickly forgot it as Cloud ran a few fingers through her hair.

"Too early for school..." He grumbled. And Tifa was about to agree with him... when the word 'school' caught up with her awareness and she remembered why the alarm was set for 7.

"Shoot!" She exclaimed as she leaped out of bed, throwing on a robe and making a dash to Marlene's room. They had exactly half an hour to get the kids up, dressed, breakfast in, and to the school, plus she had to make their lunches. Because NATURALLY yesterday the bar was overrun, with Cloud getting into a fight with a patron who was hitting on her, the kids dragging their heels about bedtime, to say nothing of the late night heart to heart with Sephiroth...

"Marlene, time to get up! First day of school." Tifa said, gently shaking the little girl, smiling as she stirred and yawned.

"Mrrrrrph! Aw... Tifa, do we have to? I was having such a great dream!" The innocent eyes looked at her, adorable with just a touch of sleepiness still in the soft brown orbs.

"Yes, you need some book smarts if you want to save the world like your Daddy, Cloud and me some day." Tifa teased, glad to get a faint giggle, before bringing out her big guns, "And you know how important it is to Daddy you have an education." A tug to the dark hair, "I left your clothes on the chair. Now out of bed or you'll have to go to school hungry to be on time." With that Tifa quickly exited to get Denzel up and going... but someone had already beat her to the punch.

Sephiroth was in the doorway of Denzel's room speaking in a very stern voice. "Denzel I have attempted to wake you at 6:50am, 6:55am, and now this is a final wake up call. If you fail to heed this third warning, I will come in and pour cold water on you. I have effectively woken many SOLDIERs that way, so I suggest you do not doubt my sincerity."

There was a disagreeable grumble, but also the sound of shuffling sheets as the boy got out of bed and staggered around like a zombie looking for his clothes.

"They are on the desk," Sephiroth directed the half-asleep boy before leaving the doorway. Seeing that Tifa was already up and attending to Marlene, Sephiroth made his way down stairs to start breakfast. It had become part of his daily routine. Even in SOLDIER, morning meal was the biggest and most important of the day. It was necessary to consume the calories and nutrition the SOLDIERs needed to maintain stamina and focus throughout the day, particularly since they may not have time for lunch or dinner if duty called or if they were sent out on an unexpected mission or patrol assignment. This included Sephiroth himself. In the past he had not been required to cook his own breakfast, so he had been annoyed when Angeal had insisted he and Genesis learn how to.

Who would have thought such laughable teachings would become so useful?

Despite cooking being an inconvenience at first, he realized he could choose what he wanted to eat, as opposed to foods that were chosen for him by the science department, mainly Hojo, to adhere to his strict diet in order to maintain peak performance. While the food did what it was supposed to in that regard, it was not always the tastiest of things. This in turn found Sephiroth always sneaking candy and chocolates into his office (with some help from a very willing Genesis), his one concession to childhood.

This morning was going to be oatmeal mixed with legumes; however, the kids would be surprised to find it made from fresh oats rather than the instant stuff, which Sephiroth himself felt had the consistency and texture of vomit. He remembered in SOLDIER, the oats and legume had to be boiled less so it would have more texture and flavor of a real food, not to mention packed with protein and fiber for suppressing hunger. And with some brown sugar, honey and some fruit added, not even the children could resist.

A familiar high pitched voice of Marlene came down the stairs. "But I don't wanna go. I'll miss you and Cloud."

"It's only for the day silly," Tifa reassured the fretting youngster.

"I wanna go back to bed," came Denzel's voice, followed closely by Cloud's.

"Faker," the blonde man said nudging Denzel down another step. "Now you know how it feels when you wake me up at 5am on Solstice morning or trips to the Chocobo farm."

"No more grumbling you two, I mean it!" There was a note in Tifa's voice warning the children she was on the verge of a very unpleasant punishment, "You know why you're going, and why you need it." Tifa refrained from pointing out that they had handled far more unpleasant things than this.

Sephiroth suppressed a chuckle as he set down the bowls full of porridge on the kitchen table as well as a plate of perfectly chopped fruit. "You would have made a fine sergeant, Tifa."

"Here, Here," Cloud agreed with a grin.

Tifa, for her part, didn't seem too offended by the idea, "A pity ShinRa just had to make SOLDIER a boys' club. Wutai could have been over in five days."

"It was not a sexist thing, at least not intentionally." Sephiroth said. "Every woman that came forward with the physical abilities fit for a SOLDIER suffered a strange side-effect when they were injected. They started having hallucinations, and nightmares that would make battlefield PTSD seem like a pleasant dream. We saw depression, some went catatonic, and some killed themselves. The changes would start almost immediately after they were injected. ShinRa didn't want any more deaths like that on his hands and banned women from the SOLDIER program."

Tifa let out a shiver, "That _really_ should have told them something about SOLDIER Serum..."

"I suspect they figured the serum merely caused some extreme hormone imbalance, PMS multiplied a 1000 fold." Sephiroth said. "And it was the perfect excuse ShinRa could use so he would not have to deal with pregnant SOLDIERs."

Tifa let out a snort, though she couldn't deny that a pregnancy would most certainly incapacitate a woman SOLDIER's ability to go on missions, undercover or not, much less the battlefield... not to mention the public outcry...

"Speaking of SOLDIER," Cloud spoke up in an effort to change the subject. "This stuff sure brings back memories." He motioned to his bowl of porridge.

"Smells good too!" Marlene said, not quite sure what most of the adults' conversation was about, but she could ask later.

"Denzel don't talk with your mouth full," Tifa quickly shot across to the boy, who was about offer his own opinion around a mouthful of porridge. The boy obligingly swallowed before opening his mouth again.

"Tastes great!"

Tifa glanced at the clock. "All right kids, finish up. And don't think eating slow will save you, you're leaving in 10 minutes period." She rose from her seat and quickly pulled out the sandwich fixings for the lunches she had to make, as well as some fruit and juice boxes for the kids.

Denzel and Marlene let out a unanimous groan.

"Alright you two," Cloud stepped in to cajole the children. "If you finish pulling yourselves together and be nice to Tifa, who has kindly prepared us all delicious lunches... I'll take you to school."

Both children looked unconvinced, so Cloud added a bit of sugar.

"On Fenrir."

The frowns on the children's face did a complete 180 and now they were beaming at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Cloud went over to a nearby cupboard and pulled out two helmets, one blue with a white flame on it, and a pink one with purple flowers.

"Ah, Cloud..." Tifa began as she finished the last lunchbox, but he sent a 'I've got this covered' look towards her, so she backed off while the kids gobbled down their breakfasts and then rushed to grab their new backpacks and the special name-tags with all their info to be pinned onto their jackets. As they came to the door, Tifa passed out their lunches and hugs all around.

"Be good, make lots of new friends and learn plenty!" Tifa commanded with a smile.

"Remember to remain attentive and respect your superiors, er...teachers," Sephiroth added gently, but firmly.

"We will!" Both cried as they raced for Fenrir.

000

Later that day Cloud wandered slowly into the kitchen, having gone back to sleep after getting the children off to school. He hadn't slept well that night, what with some of his old nightmares catching up to him, and just as he had finally gotten some good shut eye it was time to get the kids up. Either way a GIANT pot of coffee was called for if he was going to make that delivery to Kalm by this evening.

Though the two weeks since Sephiroth's arrival had not been as bad as he thought they would be, they had been long and full of talks of what they were going to next, setting ground rules namely for the children not to go near Sephiroth's room while the door was closed, and awkward passes in the hallway and just simply getting used to sharing a living space with the person they had once loathed and hated for almost a decade.

Heavy, but quiet footsteps coming down the stairs heralded the arrival of Sephiroth.

"Cloud? Are you busy at the moment?" Sephiroth asked quietly.

Cloud let out a sigh. Couldn't he just have his coffee in peace? Plastering a calm expression on his face he turned around to Sephiroth. "No. What's up?"

"Would it be easier for you to locate your files if I organized them by date and then by type of delivery, or by type and then by date?" Sephiroth asked nonchalantly.

Cloud blinked at him, still a little bleary eyed, having not yet a chance to take a sip of his coffee. "What? By date, then type I guess." Cloud said finally taking a big gulp of coffee. It was then something he hadn't realized before clicked in his head. "Wait. Why are you asking about my files?"

Sephiroth stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and looked warily back at Cloud with a raised eyebrow. "Tifa hasn't spoken to you about it yet?"

"Clearly not," Cloud said raising an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Never mind. I shall wait until after she had briefed you," Sephiroth said before attempting to retreat up the stairs. Either he was still recovering a little bit or Cloud was much faster than he remembered, because Cloud was right there standing in his way, coffee still in hand.

"She's asleep," he informed Sephiroth flatly, taking another sip of his coffee. "Why don't you brief me?"

"She stated it would be better coming from her," Sephiroth said simply. "I do not wish to disrupt the plan."

"..." Cloud was not liking this. At _all._ "Alright I won't ask... but if Tifa told you to do something, go ahead and do it."

Sephiroth nodded and continued up the stairs, his footsteps more eager to get away than they had been coming down.

Not long after Sephiroth's departure, Tifa came staggering in like a zombie and had the look of one too, with her mussy hair and droopy eyes.

"Coffee. Now!" She grumbled, barely making it to her seat, and yawning. She had only managed to get a few hours of sleep after her conversation with Sephiroth before being awoken by the alarm for school.

"Here's your coffee, but you've got some 'briefing' to do" Cloud said, handing her a cup and giving her his patented 'now or suffer' look as she snatched the cup.

"Briefing...?" Tifa said in confusion as she breathed in the coffee fumes with pleasure, before remembering, "Oh, right... Look Cloud I know we're still adjusting to Sephiroth, but..." Tifa then filled Cloud in on the previous night's discussion with Sephiroth while drinking her coffee and slowly coming more alive. And the more she thought about it the better idea it seemed.

"And you're okay with this?" Cloud finally asked, at the end of her tale.

"Yeah... I am actually," Tifa said smiling for him. "It gives us some neutral ground here, a safe zone of conversation. And Sephiroth will have something to focus on instead of drifting aimlessly. Not to mention the overhaul will take days with everything else we have going on."

"Yeah, even Marlene said I need to clean off my desk..." Cloud said absently scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Not to mention my filing cabinets are full to bursting..." Tifa sighed, clacking her finger tips against the counter. She looked over at Cloud and gave him a cheeky grin. "Plus I can tell Sephiroth has been ITCHING to clean your office. And I think if he's not allowed to do it, he's gonna snap all over again.

"Okay, that was low." Cloud said dryly, but his lips were twitching in an almost smile because she wasn't exaggerating all THAT much.

000

Later that day, Cloud and Tifa left for Cloud's delivery to Kalm, making a last minute decision to go together to give them some "couple time," with the children being watched over at school, and Sephiroth now trusted to be left by himself once given a project to occupy his time. It was the first time in a long time the two heroes had the chance to be really alone together.

Said project for Sephiroth was organizing Cloud's office for which Sephiroth seemed to be relieved to be left to his own devices without Cloud looking over his shoulder while he organized things.

Upon returning home only a few hours later, they had expected things to be just tidied up a bit. What they didn't expect was to find the room empty, and practically sparkling.

What was even less expected was the sight of Sephiroth dressed in baggy jeans, an equally baggy t-shirt, with his hair done up in a now messy braided bun, complete with rubber gloves, sponges and a bucket, and, oh yes, an apron.

Tifa blinked trying to suppress a giggle at this image before her, while Cloud stood there completely stunned at the sight of the once feared General of SOLDIER looking every bit the domestic house wife.

"Good, that should be satisfactory for the deep clean, I'll begin the business end tomorrow." Sephiroth said inspecting his work around the office looking very pleased.

"It looks... amazing." Tifa had to give the General, he never did anything halfway. She looked around trying to drink this all in.

"I didn't know I had a rug..." Cloud said still a little in shock at Sephiroth. He looked down in fascination at the bit of carpeting under his feet as if seeing it for the first time. In a way he was...

"I didn't think this room was this _big_!" Tifa exclaimed, looking around with a smile.

"You know..." Cloud said regaining some of his senses. "You know you didn't have to clean the whole office, and we have a mop."

"Impossible. A mop would suffice for a general maintenance cleaning but this required a careful deep clean." Sephiroth said firmly. "Sometimes one can create organization from disorganization, and then there are other times when a complete purge is necessary."

Tifa was going to respond except Cloud immediately turned on Sephiroth.

"What do you mean, _purged_?" He snapped, about ready to go for his sword.

Raising an eyebrow at Cloud's sudden change in demeanor, he answered, "I mean removed from this room."

"And you did _what,_ exactly, with what was removed?" Cloud demanded. Tifa put a calming hand on his bicep.

"Temporarily allocated it to the garage," Sephiroth said, slowly eyeing Cloud warily. He was a little confused as to why Cloud had not thought of this logical conclusion himself, and why he almost looked ready to do battle. Then he realized that perhaps "purge" was not the smartest word to use. Usually the word "purge" applied to the former general meant the destruction of a town or a country, or even a whole planet for that matter.

"I organized them into separate piles, business, personal, and Fenrir," Sephiroth explained further hoping to make amends for his poor choice of words.

"Oh..." Cloud muttered, relaxing a bit, but he'd check the boxes later. He still hadn't quite gotten used to Sephiroth touching all of his things. "Right..."

"Still... there wasn't any dirty dishes or rotting food lying around," Tifa pointed out in an effort to buck Cloud up. "Clutter is better than garbage."

"There are also people who become buried alive in their clutter," Sephiroth said solemnly. "I've seen it in some of my SOLDIERs who developed a hoarding disorder. Although I suppose we all have our little quirks. One might say I am mildly obsessive compulsive."

"Just a tad." Tifa teased.

"But come now, isn't this much better?" Sephiroth said holding out his arms to the sparkling space, a fond wistful smile crossing his face as he inhaled deeply. "The stinging smell of bleach is the smell of clean."

"I think he's inhaled a bit too much of that bleach," Cloud whispered to Tifa.

"Let's get him out of here before all his sane brain cells die out." Tifa whispered back, just managing to suppress a laugh before raising her voice again. "Sephiroth, I've made you the list for 7th Heaven business items, and all the documentation is downstairs in the basement, my office."

Sephiroth nodded his voice resuming its naturally authoritative and professional tone. "Good. I will change and look it over. I think the chemicals were starting to affect cognition a little."

"Just a tad," Cloud muttered. Tifa just jabbed him one, not wanting to irk Sephiroth when his presence was actually taking some unpleasant tasks off their hands.

Sephiroth however seemed unaffected by the comment as his attention turned to gather up the cleaning supplies.

"If you don't mind, I would prefer to change my clothes without you watching me." He said, reminding them that while it was Cloud's office, it was also his room for the time being.

"Ah! Right, we're standing in your room," Tifa realized, blushing a little, before snagging Cloud's arm and dragging him out.

After they had exited the room, Cloud leaned against a nearby wall and rubbed his temples. "This is too weird..."

"... That's kinda of been the theme of our lives since you, he and Zack came to Nibelhiem." Tifa murmured.

"Yeah..." Cloud nodded, but a faint smile played crossed his lips. "Though I was just referring to seeing Sephiroth in an apron..." Tifa swatted his arm, but the two shared a laugh.

000

The morning started off like any other, except for an unexpected phone call...

"Hello, Strife residence," Denzel answered the personal phone in the kitchen. The gruff voice that said hello to him on the other end of the line was unmistakable. "Marlene! It's your dad!"

Marlene came barreling in and snatched the phone from Denzel, eager to talk to her father, "Hi Daddy!"

"How's my little girl doin' eh?" Barett asked, not having had the chance to speak to Marlene in some time, "You keepin' Spikey an' crew in line?"

"You bet'cha! Oh and the new arrival too!" Marlene chirped.

"Atta girl!" Then the voice immediately suspicious. "New arrival? What puppy followed Spikey home _this_ time?"

"A big kitty!" Marlene giggled. "His name is Sephiroth. I think Cloud knew him before somewhere!"

There was a long silence on the other, and Barrett had to strain to keep his voice calm, "Marles. Did ya just call him... Sephiroth?"

"Yeah! That's his name. And he's really pretty too, with Silver hair and green eyes. And he's really tall and-"

Cloud picked this moment to join the kids in the kitchen.

"Yeah, his name is Sephiroth daddy, I told you that 2 seconds ago." Immediately Cloud froze, and his face took the wide-eyes, pale pallor of a classic 'oh shit!' expression.

Marlene turned around when she heard the clank of a mug on the counter, "Cloud! Guess what? Daddy's on the phone!"

Cloud plastered a smile on his face while glancing at the phone with trepidation. He and Tifa were so dead. Especially him, though.

"Yeah, Cloud's right here," Marlene said into the phone, and then looked back up at Cloud. "He wants to talk to you."

"Oh, I bet he does..." Cloud said carefully taking the phone from her. "Barrett?"

"Cloud," The burly man's deep voice came over the phone, deceptively calm, the anger bubbling just below the surface. "The 'Sephiroth' my lil' girl's talkin' about had better be a grey and white tabby cat!"

Cloud had to hold the phone away from his ear as the last few words were full of such rage that they had fully uncovered right into the speaker.

"Not... Exactly," Cloud said and added quickly as he could hear the draw of breath over the phone needed for another tirade. "Now look Barrett before you go and fly off the handle-"

"You stupid sonofabitch who the hell do you think you are bringin' that One-winged monster around my little girl!"

"Barrett-"

There was a pause, but not for the reason Cloud was hoping for. After letting out his rage, a rather important fact occurred to Barrett. "He's supposed to be dead. You killed him!"

"Marlene, Denzel, could you head upstairs, please." Cloud said softly.

The kids nodded and did as they were told. When they were out of earshot, Cloud went back to the phone.

"Look we were going to tell you guys when we had a few more things worked out here, and I DID kill him! The crazy half of him." Cloud said as calmly as he could muster. He pinched the bridge of his nose. It was _WAY_ too early for explaining all of this. "Look he's not a threat to Marlene, or Tifa and I would've already taken care of him... again."

"So what? You're sayin' he's a good guy all of a sudden?" Barrett growled.

"It's... not that simple, but for basically, yes." Cloud said searching for a way to explain this. It was hard saying it all out of context and Sephiroth not in front him to show how he'd changed. It was then he realized that he'd have to explain it again about six or seven times to each AVALANCHE member. "Look, round up AVALANCHE, tell 'em what's going on and arrange with Cid to come here. Tifa and I will fill everybody in then, okay?"

"All right. Fair enough." Barrett grumbled. "But I'm not so sure I want my daughter hangin' around that extraterrestrial maniac for one more minute."

Cloud bristled just slightly at the comment. After all he himself had nearly toppled off the deep end like Sephiroth. Injected with Jenova's virulent cells and had her claws around his brain. They were not so different in a way. Only he had a group of friends to keep him from falling, Sephiroth did not; his were dead or had gone mad themselves. And Zack hadn't been close enough. Not like Angeal or especially Genesis.

And since his second reawakening, Sephiroth had done everything he could to show that he was not the monster Jenova and ShinRa had made him anymore. As far as Marlene was concerned, Sephiroth had been nothing but gentle. Thus Cloud was unable to let the injustice of Barrett's comment go. "Okay enough about me, now what about Sephiroth?"

"W-What?" Barrett started a little caught off guard by Cloud's answer.

"I mean I have the same cells inside me, I've been possessed the same way he was by Jenova. Hell! I GAVE him the black materia to summon Meteor." Cloud reminded somberly. "Yet you trusted me and Tifa enough to leave her after that."

"That's ... different," Barrett stammered a little, taken aback by the new realization. "You were born human and that scientist did things to ya' and you overcame it and saved the world twice. He was born with that monster a part of him, and he tried to destroy the world TWICE!"

"She's a part of me, too." Cloud said. "And I can't turn away Sephiroth for wanting to make amends and free himself from Jenova's clutches. He handed Masamune over to me willingly, with barely a hesitation."

"He did?" Barrett said sounding genuinely bewildered

"Yes. It's locked up in Tifa's armoire now, and he's never asked for it," Cloud affirmed.

There was a long pause from Barrett before the older man grumbled something incoherent before speaking clearly again. "All right. Now, I'm not sayin' I like this. Not 'til I've talked to him face ta' face, but I see where you're comin' from."

Cloud let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Thanks. Just round everyone that you can up; Tifa and I will give a full explanation when you get here. All right?"

"Will do. But I reserve a father's right to open up a can of whoop ass on that silver haired time bomb if he even so much as looks at Marlene funny!"

"Fair enough," Cloud said calmly, a touch of a smile crossing his lips at the big bad Barrett being Mr. Dad. "Call when you're on your way with everybody."

"See ya' soon." Barrett said.

"Oh, by the way, Barrett," Cloud added before the other man could hang up. He decided it was better to get this out in the open now before Barrett found out on his own. At least telling him, he would simmer down before he arrived, "It's a good thing you left your clothes here last time, they're the only ones that fit Sephiroth that first night."

"WHAT!"

Maybe not...

0000

Vega's Vents: Oi... Barrett is not a happy camper.

Chica's Chatter: Aie ya y'aie! What a chapter. Let us consider the possibilities now that AVALANCHE is made aware of Seph's existence... In a word? _Shit._

Vega: That sums it up about right.

Chica: Tifa better be prepared with lots and lots of Barrett's favorite beer. And Materia for Yuffie. Need something shiny to distract her.


	10. AVALANCHE

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta _SephirothxAerith_ for Betaing and all of her contributions_

Try Try Again 9

Tifa and Cloud busied themselves for the next while as the kids were at school, making all the preparations for visiting friends. This primarily involved making sure they had everything straight, a strategy worked out, and plenty of everyone's favorite drinks on hand. Tifa silently thanked Gaia for Cid having a gentlemanly streak; he was willing to keep her updated with their ETA.

When the Shera did touch down, Reeve, Red XIII, Cid, Shera, and Barrett came out and descended upon the couple.

"Well, well long time no see!" Cid chortled upon entering.

"You're looking well under the circumstances," Red XIII said calmly, mostly to Cloud, who nodded back with a soft thanks.

"Tifa!"

"Shera!"

"I am in disbelief you didn't inform us sooner," Reeve semi-scolded the couple in his casual way.

"Where's Marlene?" Barrett asked as soon as he stepped in the door, without so much as a 'hello'.

"Daddy!" Marlene came running in at the sound of her father's voice and leaped into his arms.

"There's my pretty thing!" Barrett boomed, giving her a big but gentle bear hug. "You're, Gettin' so big!"

"Big and strong like you!" she said, flexing her muscles.

"Course ya are girlie!" Barrett declared with warm pride before blowing a raspberry against his daughter's cheek. Marlene returned the favor in kind, and Cid, being Cid, captured this with his PHS camera.

"This is going on the Solstice cards!" The Rocket Town native declared with a deep throaty chuckle.

"Ear muffs Marlene," Barrett snapped before going off on Cid, much to the entertainment of the rest of the group.

Well. MOST of the rest of the group.

"Good to see you all, too." Cloud called to get everyone to focus back to the subject at hand. "Are uh... Vincent or Yuffie with you?"

"The Vampir' is on top o' The Shera. The Brat's still on her way from Wutai, should be here soon... hope yer Materia is locked up safe."

"It's not the Materia we're worried about this time." Cloud said, rubbing the side of his head.

"So where is the one we have all come to see?" Came Vincent's deep tone, suddenly right next to Cloud, causing everyone to jump a little.

"He's upstairs," Cloud said flatly.

"We'll send the kids up after him, once we've talked."

"You're gonna send the kids up to get that-" then remembering Marlene was _right there_, "guy?" Tifa shot Barrett a quelling look, the kind she used to give him in the old days, when she'd have to yell at him for taking care of problem patrons that she could handle herself. Now it was to warn him to back off of Sephiroth.

"Yes. Yes we are, because Marlene and Denzel get along great with him."

"And let me remind everyone that he has very, very, VERY good hearing," Cloud said his tone growing serious. "He might hear even without trying to eavesdrop, that's why we need to head into the bar.

"He liked my drawing for him!" Marlene chirped.

"What did you draw?" Barrett asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's in the kitchen on the fridge!" Marlene told him, proud beam lighting up her face, "Sephiroth said it needed a place of honor!"

"He did?" Barrett asked, taken aback, "Well let's go see it!"

His daughter was only too happy to do just that. It was no small relief to Tifa and Cloud that Marlene had offered some small proof of Sephiroth's mended ways.

"See!"

Cid let loose first, with a loud guffaw, Reeve laughed along with Red XIII, and Shera hid her face in Cid's shoulder to hide her giggles. Vincent and Barrett, however, took time to consider what they were seeing…

The drawing was of Sephiroth with adorable little cat ears.

"Guess it was a grey and white cat after all." Barrett said through soft chuckles, which allowed Cloud and Tifa to relax enough to smile.

"I don't think I've seen Sephiroth portrayed in quite that way before," was Vincent's response, a little bemused expression on his face.

"Well he thought it was nice!" Marlene declared, her face showing how put out she was feeling as the other adults bursts into laughter.

"We're sorry Marlene," Tifa rushed to reassure, "we aren't laughing at your drawing!"

"Yeah, you've got some serious talent girlie! We've never seen Sephiroth look well... 'cute' before." Barrett offered, and that seemed to mollify Marlene. Of course everyone else had to avoid looking at anyone else, for fear of another laughing bout.

"Marlene, go be with the other two; we'll call you all downstairs when we're ready," Tifa suggested, wanting everyone to be allowed to speak freely. The little girl did just that and so the group assembled in the bar that was locked up and had black curtains drawn to hide the light.

"Look, we know it's... weird and it's definitely an adjustment from before but..." Tifa trailed off looking for the right words to explain the whole situation.

"He's trying to build a life for himself... roots." Cloud continued. "Something he's never had before. A life of his very own that's not controlled by ShinRa. And he's made no threats or movements towards the kids or Tifa and I."

"We all have enough blood on our hands." Tifa said gravely. "If we kill him when he's given us no cause, how are we any better than ShinRa was?"

"Yeah... Scarlet did more damage to me personally than he did," Barrett mumbled absently rubbing his metal arm.

"Really, out of all us here... the only ones who've ever suffered at Sephiroth's direct hands are me, Tifa and Yuffie."

"And even then... Cloud and I realized... we only hate the psychotic side. That's the half that did everything to Nibelhiem." Tifa added.

"Yuffie grew up during the Wutai War where he was the ultimate destroyer and public enemy number one," Reeve said. "In essence she was brought up to hate him. I heard some scant reports that she tried to assassinate him when she was 8 years old. Luckily the weapon of choice of was a toy and didn't even stick through his coat. But still..."

"Factor in our recent adventures-" Cloud began.

"-And it could get seriously ugly around here." Tifa finished.

"Should I have a tranq gun ready?" Cid asked.

Both Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances seriously considering the idea.

"I don't suppose we could try... reasoning with her?" Red XIII asked calmly.

"Yuffie won't be reasoned with. Not with this." Cloud said somberly.

"I also have some Sleep materia if that fails." Vincent offered.

"Sleep Materia. Good plan!" Tifa clapped her hands.

"I guess we'll just have to deal with the situation when it arrives," Reeve said.

"Either way... no blood shed under this roof, _capiche_?" Tifa said firmly, in her best

'there-will-be-no-arguments' voice.

There was a general murmur of assent, although of course everyone was still concerned about the situation.

"You said... psychotic side of Sephiroth?" Reeve inquired casually, that keen mind hidden behind the gentle mask and silliness that got him on ShinRa's board of directors showing itself.

"From what he explained, when he died before in Nibelheim, his soul was split in two so to speak." Cloud explained, "The side that everyone knew as the hero and great General of SOLDIER went to and remained in the Lifestream like most souls, the other drifted, using Jenova's powers and pure hate to sustain himself."

"That's why Geostigma happened." Tifa spoke up again, "It wasn't Gaia that was angry, it was the essence of Jenova carried there by Sephiroth's other half." She paused in thought, remembering those dark days, "Can't say she isn't a patient monster."

"According to Sephiroth, Gaia decided it was too much of a risk to keep that other half in the lifestream, but just sending it back would only repeat our 'fun' endless cycle with that side." Cloud went on, "So, she went for broke, and sent BOTH halves back. That way Jenova is contained and Sephiroth gets the life he... deserved."

"So he's got two souls inside him?" Cid said looking completely bewildered – so much so that his cigarette lay completely forgotten between his fingers.

"What if the other one takes over?" Reeve asked carefully.

"It did before," Barrett muttered.

"Don't be so quick to judge him." Vincent spoke, gaining the attention of the group, "The planet does nothing by halves; if Gaia felt Sephiroth would be strong enough to act as a containment unit for his other self and Jenova, we shouldn't be so quick to doubt. How can we expect him to be confident enough to keep them at bay if we are not confident with him? It will only breed insecurity; insecurity breeds weakness."

"... what he said." Cloud agreed with the ex-Turk, "And the longer he stays here the less frequent the attacks occur."

"Cloud and I have a theory, the more of a life he builds on, the more roots he lays down-"

"- the more he can reject Jenova's call. Remember, Sephiroth before Nibelhiem wasn't just famous for stoicism... he was famous for having almost no personality at ALL." Cloud said, a dark expression came across his face, "Small wonder when something like what he discovered in Nibelhiem he had a psychotic break."

"And before he didn't recognize the threat within himself," Vincent said stoically. He lowered his gaze to the floor, partially hiding his face behind his high collar. "It is a terrifying thing to have other voices inside your head. At least I knew where mine were coming from. He did not."

"But...So..now he knows what the enemy is, so he can fight it, right?" Cid deduced.

"Yes, so far so good." Tifa nodded, "And you don't have to put on a show of liking him or tolerating him, he'd be more offended and distrustful of that then outward dislike. At least that's honest. Just... live and let live."

"Thanks to all of the ShinRa cover ups, most of the populace doesn't associate him with the happenings and goings on," Reeve said.

"And luckily we never enlightened them..." Tifa sighed. None there would forget that extremely painful decision to leave the general populace in ignorance of Sephiroth's role – though not ShinRa's – with Meteor, to give them an old hero to cling to while they rebuilt their world.

"So what's his next step from here? Does he want to join the WRO?" Reeve quirked an eyebrow. Despite everything that happened, Reeve was one of the few people left who had known Sephiroth before the great fall, and if he had truly returned to that state of mind, then his wisdom and experience would be a great asset.

"We'll let Sephiroth explain that. But, as you would expect, he has a plan." Cloud then looked upwards and yelled, "Alright kids, bring Sephiroth down here!"

The result was instantaneous pattering of little feet above their heads.

Barrett shifted uncomfortably in his chair, noticeably nervous about Marlene being in the same room as Sephiroth out of his watchful eye, but he tried his best to remember what they just said about Sephiroth's good side.

Everyone in the room seemed to simultaneously stiffen and straighten when the sound of heavier footsteps could be heard, their breaths held as they drew closer.

"Hold still I'm trying to make you look pretty!" Marlene scolded outside the door as Sephiroth refused to break his stride to accommodate her beauty regimen.

Once again Marlene single-handedly eased the tension in the room as everyone let out the breath they had been holding. There were even a few suppressed chuckles from Reeve and Cid.

Denzel came in first, greeted everyone, followed by Marlene who was leading Sephiroth in by the hand, the bottom half of his hair was braided and tied with a pink ribbon...

Despite the bright dressing of his hair, Sephiroth kept his face stoic and unreadable as he would in a negotiations meeting in hostile territory. He nodded respectfully to everyone and took a seat in between Cloud and Tifa.

Tifa took mercy, and began with Reeve, who at least was familiar to Sephiroth, "Reeve here is the head of the WRO; tell him what you plan and what you need from them."

"General." Reeve greeted with his usual cheeriness.

Sephiroth almost smiled. Almost. Even though he had not known Reeve all that well on a personal level back in the days of SODLIER, it was still a comfort to see a familiar face amongst strangers. "Director, in order for me to begin a new life properly I will need a legal identity, certificates, licenses, worker's permit, identification cards, and whatever else your current government requires." Sephiroth spoke formally, very much like when he was general and Reeve was on the board of directors. "At the current moment, Mr. Strife and Ms. Lockhart have very graciously offered me a position in helping them run the business end of Strife Delivery Service and the 7th Heaven Bar until I complete my training in the real field I wish to go into."

"Which is?" Reeve asked, his curiosity now peaked.

Sephiroth hesitated for a moment, suddenly feeling as insecure as he did when he first told Tifa his idea. But after a comforting pat on the shoulder from the aforementioned woman, he finally spoke. "I am looking into the position of an RN, with perhaps specialization in Trauma."

"That's a very... admirable ambition. And an occupation in high demand."

"What's an RN?" Barrett quirked an eyebrow as he picked Marlene up and set her on his lap.

"Registered Nurse." Sephiroth said quickly. Cid was quickly jabbed by Shera while Tifa stepped on Barrett's foot to ensure no laughter or insensitive remarks could come out of either man's mouth.

Reeve then warned him, "It will require a lot of school though."

"I know, but I have been able to excel quicker than others. And I have contacts in the medical field who can help me."

"Very well. You'll need proof of prior schooling, identification with a photo, which means you'll need your original birth certificate, and a permanent address. These documents I can provide you with, or, at least, least locate the databases where they'll be stored. Tifa and Cloud will have to provide the proof that you're living here, as I assume you don't have any bills or mail with your name on it...?"

Sephiroth's only response was a head-shake.

"Very well, all Tifa and Cloud will have to do is swear an affidavit."

"Unfortunately all of my original identification things like my birth certificate and such were in ShinRa's keeping," Sephiroth lamented.

Reeve waved that away as if it was nothing, "Conveniently, the WRO has access to every database ShinRa had," a smirk, "and a few they don't know we know about. Rest assured, they'll have it in a database, and we will locate it."

"Thank you."

"Wait, what if someone recognizes him, I mean as General Sephiroth?" Shera pointed out.

"We don't think it'll be that much of a problem." Cloud had been thinking about this, "ShinRa declared Sephiroth dead after Nibelhiem and spent the whole of out adventures covering things up. That'll take care of Rufus and the Turks."

"And it's not like any of you have written memoirs about AVALANCHE or the Advent." Shera timidly pointed out, but received several nods to the truth of her statement.

"Who outside of the people in this room and ShinRa know about Sephiroth's involvement in Meteor and Jenova's Advent?" Red XIII concluded with his smile.

"And even if someone did, who'd believe that same guy would be an RN?" Barrett said.

"Good point that..."

"It is very true; most humans seem to miss a great deal." Red XII mused, "Present parties excluded, of course."

"And some do not wish to see." Vincent said stoically.

"And some are just stubborn..." Tifa threw in to lighten things up a tad, eyeing Cloud.

"I said I was sorry." Cloud muttered.

"Well look who's callin' who stubborn." Cid mock-scolded, only to get punched on the arm by the barmaid.

"Do I need to mention Shera?" She demanded.

"Alright, so is there anything else you need from the WRO Sephiroth?" Reeve said, before things could get too rowdy, and they got off track.

Sephiroth shook his head. "I cannot think if anything at the moment. Is there anything you need from me?"

"Do you know your last name?" Red XIII, ever logical asked. After all, if the database contains more than one Sephiroth...

"No... I was never told. If I had one, I suppose it would be on the birth certificate." The ex-general said, his gaze somewhat dull.

"I doubt there's any more than ONE Sephiroth, anyway." Reeve said.

"I think my birth mother's name was Crescent," Sephiroth strained to remember the documents he'd read that horrible day, and he was fairly sure he was right, "but then there was also Hojo's name. I suppose he can be considered my father... though I would rather he did not."

"Really? You don't say." Reeve was a little surprised. After all, there had been a rumor amongst the directors about Hojo long ago, "Hmmm... Well, my mother didn't change her name when she married, perhaps yours was the same."

"I suppose, it seems strange to carry the name of a person you never met and did not even know existed until hours before your death." Sephiroth said with an edge of bitterness creeping into his voice.

"But it also marks you as human, too."

"How so?" Sephiroth raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Reeve smiled that annoyingly wise and somehow vaguely predatory smile, "It's the name of a human family, one you were born into through one of their own and is yours and no one else's to claim."

Sephiroth's expression darkened. He got up from his chair, only to face the wall. He wrapped his arms around himself, gripping his upper arms so tightly that his fingernails started turning white. Both Tifa and Cloud tensed. Would thinking of his real mother bring on an "attack" at the worst time possible?

After a few seconds of tense silence, Sephiroth finally spoke again, frost coating his voice even more. "The same woman who willingly chose to have her unborn child used as an experiment, and did nothing to rescue him from it once he was born?" He finally turned around to face the others, his expression cold, except there was tiny bit of hurt in his eyes that he could no longer completely suppress. "Why would I want that name?"

"Shit...No wonder he snapped," Cid sunk down a little in his chair.

"Because it's one thing more Jenova could never give you."

"And one thing more I wouldn't want from her either," Sephiroth muttered coldly.

Marlene made a squeaking noise as she tried to hold back tears. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at Barrett, her lip quivering a little. "That's sad. Why would his momma do that?"

There was a deep and penetrating silence as everyone looked away in search of an answer to the little girl's innocent question. It struck everyone close to home.

"Don't know..." Barrett answered truthfully as he again gathered her into a hug, "Guess there are some mommas out there that don't think about their kid's feelings as much as they should. But don't you worry girl, your momma loved you right to the end." He ruffled her hair and gave her an extra squeeze.

Vincent opened his mouth to speak in Lucrecia's defense, to say that wasn't exactly how it happened, but then closed it again. Defending her would mean telling everyone the whole sordid story of his and Lucrecia's lives, and he had no right to take Sephiroth's justified anger away from him. After all, Vincent felt himself equally responsible as Lucrecia for failing to save Sephiroth when he had the chance. He should have saved them both. He should have pushed his insecurities aside, told Lucrecia how he felt and escaped with her. Maybe their attempt would have been in vain, but at least they could have tried. Who knows, maybe they might have made it to Wutai, still independent at the time, and hidden there. Maybe they could have actually have been a family. Sephiroth would have had a fairly normal life and he and Lucrecia could have been...

He looked back at Sephiroth still hugging himself, still looking out with cold eyes hiding years of anger and sorrow and the emptiness that only the unconditional love of a real family could fill.

Could have, would have, should have, it was all meaningless now. The damage was done and could never be undone no matter how many explanations there were.

"If I can, I think I will stick with just 'Sephiroth' for right now," Sephiroth said, his voice slowly beginning to thaw back to its normal, calm tones. "That may have been given to me, too, but at least I have made that my own."

Reeve was kind, but firm, "You'll need a surname, for ID and school purposes. But amongst us, you can always remain just Sephiroth."

"It'd feels strange, as thinking of you as any name BUT 'Sephiroth'," Tifa said with an uneasy laugh.

Sephiroth sighed in defeat. "If that is what is printed on the certificate, so be it. But if there is to be one, could I pick one?"

"Yeah, cut him a break, ya know?" Cid said, putting out the last if his cigarette.

"Come on Reeve." Barrett chimed in gruffly.

"I don't see why not. I'll just see the proper adjustments are made, if that's that case."

"What name would you like to have if given the choice?" Shera asked kindly.

"I'll decide when the time comes," Sephiroth murmured.

"A wise course of action." Red encouraged.

"Alright, so then everyone is agreed here?" Tifa stated, knowing no one was really 'happy' about the situation, but wanting to see their agreement on this all the same, "Sephiroth will be left in peace?"

"As long as he lives just as peacefully, we'll let him be." Barrett concurred. The others all nodded to show their consent.

"Alright then... who's hungry?"

Everyone hesitated, still trying to take it all in. Meanwhile Sephiroth, who hadn't sat down since the discussion about his mother, took in a deep breath and let it out, before nodding politely at the others and excusing himself.

Tifa and Cloud watched him go and head quickly upstairs.

Tifa sighed wearily and took out an extra plate began loading it up for Sephiroth in a practiced motion she had done so many times before for Cloud when he fell into maudlin moods. Still she managed to plaster a comforting smile on her face. "Go on everyone."

"Just put it in the fridge for him. I've seen that look – he's not going have an appetite for hours, if at all." Cloud murmured lowly in her ear, to which she gave an affirmative head shake.

"I'll sic the kids on him in a little bit. That'll cheer him up." Tifa winked at him.

Cloud smiled back at her. "Good plan."

"Of course!" Tifa said, snatching a quick peck before anyone else would notice.

000

Meanwhile an unexpected eavesdropper arrived unannounced at the tail end of the meeting, just after the discussion of Sephiroth's name, and by the time the last word was spoken, she was shaking with fury.

It made her blood boil to hear Tifa and Cloud tell the others to just leave Sephiroth in peace, and even worse to hear everyone agree to it.

She couldn't believe it. How could they? How could they just forgive and forget everything that monster had done to them, t_o her!_

After the war her country lay broken both in flames and in pride, and just when it was regaining some semblance of restoration, Sephiroth had sent meteor and Geostigma to ravage her country a second time.

She wanted to run and shout that this was madness, that Sephiroth had no right to be let off so easily. But for one of the few times of her life she held her tongue and stayed hidden. Oh no, that demon would not get off so easy, and if her friends would not do anything about it then she would just have to take matters into her own hands...

000

Chica: Okay... okay I'm sorry. It has to be said... _Dun dun DUUN!_


	11. Assassin's Creed

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions_

000

As silent as night, Yuffie Kirasagi scaled the wall to the window on the top floor on the far side of the 7th Heaven building. Some had called her clumsy in the past. They said that she would never become an effective ninja – but she had been preparing for this moment all her life, and every nerve and muscle focused on her singular objective.

She finally reached the window and, pulling out a small thin dagger, began to jimmy the lock. She had to be careful, as Sephiroth's senses were legendary and one false sound would wake him and everything would be ruined.

The window unlocked and she carefully opened it and slipped inside. She silently crawled along the floor, never taking her eyes off the sleeping figure on the cot. She reached the end of the cot and carefully climbed up upon it. She unstrapped her trusty shuriken and raised it, waiting for the right moment to strike. Right now the silver haired demon was lying on his side, concealing all of his instant kill points. She knew with Sephiroth's strength and healing abilities she would only get one shot at this; if the strike didn't deliver a killing blow, he might have enough left in him to fight back and kill her.

Just then Sephiroth let out a soft groan and rolled on to his back with head still turned slightly to the side, exposing his neck. All it would take was one good slice.

She raised her Shuriken, reveling in her thoughts of vindication for her country. She brought the deadly star down and suddenly found her own wrist grasped in a cold but strong hand, and deadly green eyes staring back at her...

Cloud was very much enjoying the REM portion of his sleep, as was his lover, now that AVALANCHE was all downstairs, passed out in the bar or safely tucked away on the Shera, and the kids had worked their magic so that Sephiroth had given them a mild 'good night' when he and Tifa had stopped by earlier. Now he could relax and...

Wait... what was...

Just as Cloud came awake, Tifa did too, and he knew she'd heard it too. There was some banging and a distinct, high voice cursing in Wutainese. Listening for a second, the couple sat up, looked at each other, then made to grab gloves, his sword (both kept within a swift grab) and the first Materia Tifa could reach, and a Sleep by chance, before taking off towards the sounds of the commotion.

This had also woken Denzel and Marlene, as Tifa saw them peeking out of their respective bedroom doors and making to step out.

"Stay where you are!" she ordered as Cloud pounded on his office door, Denzel quickly signaling to Marlene to cover to him before shutting his door again.

When pounding failed to produce results, Tifa and Cloud gave it a sharp kick, effectively kicking it down, and Cloud flipped the switch and nearly dropped the buster sword.

Sephiroth was on the floor trying to restrain a struggling Yuffie, but without hurting her. Partially confused by this awkward situation of trying to restrain a person who had just tried to kill him, but was also a friend of the people who had sheltered him and defended him, Sephiroth broke a cardinal rule of battle and took his eyes off Yuffie when he looked up at Tifa and Cloud for answers.

Yuffie took full advantage of the distraction, slipping a knife out of her gauntlet and slashing at Sephiroth's face. Sephiroth ducked his head to the side, but the blade caught his cheek.

Tifa admitted a gasp as a thin red line appeared along Sephiroth's cheek, and Cloud's eyes just about bugged out of his head at what Yuffie had managed to do...

Sephiroth backed away from Yuffie, his hand covering his face over the gash on his cheek. He stopped and pulled his hand away, his eyes widening at the red streak along his palm. And then his eyes began to glow bright green.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried, seeing the green eyes take that familiar shine and expression, tossing him the Materia she'd snagged earlier. Cloud caught it and rushed Sephiroth; he only had a few seconds before Sephiroth's natural defenses went up and blocked the Materia's effects. He swung Tsuguri around and struck Sephiroth in the chest with the blunt edge, effectively knocking the wind out of him and leaving him stunned for a split second, just enough time to activate the sleep materia.

Sephiroth's eyes immediately rolled back into his head and he began to fall backwards. Cloud caught him by the front of his shirt and lowered him gently to the floor.

Tifa in turn, grabbed Yuffie, who had been prepping for another attack on Sephiroth, and furiously dragged the wiggling ninja back and out of the room. She was grateful for her martial arts training, as Yuffie's nails were sharp and in her frantic state, the ninja was clawing up Tifa's arms badly.

"Alright, stop it! Stop it NOW!" Tifa snarled at the ninja in an attempt to get the situation under control. Yuffie only increased her struggles to get free, not willing to be dragged away from her chance to kill Sephiroth, now lying helpless on the floor. "You destroyed Wutai, you monster! You broke it, ShinRa dog!"

It took another three minutes to drag Yuffie down the hall to the master bedroom, and Tifa promptly whipped her around and slapped Yuffie across the face, not hard but none-too-gently either.

"What in _hades_ is wrong with you, Yuffie?"

The young ninja froze, her eyes wide, and she seemed to see Tifa for the first time. But she only grew angry again, though not nearly as much as before. "Why did you stop me? I had him right where I wanted him!"

"You had no right! In OUR house Yuffie! OUR kids right down the hall!"

Yuffie's eyes widened as big as saucers. She obviously hadn't considered Marlene and Denzel being there. She at least had the decency to bow her head in guilt at possibly endangering the children in the crossfire. But she still felt she was in the right. "There was no other way! It was the only advantage I had, like catching a dragon asleep."

Tifa shoved Yuffie back into a chair, fighting to keep a little bit of composure, "Sit. DOWN."

She paced for a moment to calm down, making sure Yuffie stayed put, "Didn't Cloud and I make it clear, and don't tell me you weren't eavesdropping earlier, that he's under our roof and our protection? Think it's been easy to accept that? To have him here with Denzel and Marlene, who find him a constant fascination? That we liked having to get him on his feet? And now, when we've finally got him solidly on his way, you go and pull this, Yuffie?"

"I'm just doing what we all _want_ to do in our hearts!" Yuffie yelled back in protest. "Get rid of this monster who ruined all of our lives! You're all believing his lies and becoming too chicken shit to do the job!" There was a long cold, moment of silence as Tifa looked angrier than ever before.

"Don't you dare... don't you DARE tell me about what he did. You had a home, a parent at the end of the Wutai War, even if they weren't what you thought or wanted, they were still there. Me and Cloud were left with nothing. You get that, _nothing,_ Yuffie." Tifa swallowed hard. Oh, she could still feel the chill in the slums from that first night, "I had the clothes on my back and some Gil a nurse gave me when I got discharged from the medical center in Midgar. No home, no family, no friends. NADDA. I will never forget that."

"Then why are you defending him?" Yuffie shrieked more in confusion now than anything else. "Against me of all people: I was trying to rid you of this burden."

"Because I've had a chance to know him, to see his wants and desires that he had to abandon because of ShinRa, Yuffie. And what happened in Nibelhiem was NOT as black and white as I thought. And neither is Sephiroth."

"So what? He's suddenly a saint now?" Yuffie spat.

"He's not monster, and he's not a saint. He's just a human being trying to figure out who he is without the shadow of ShinRa or Jenova over him."

Cloud came into the room after looking after Sephiroth and waiting at the door for the right moment, letting the girls duke it out first. "If I can do it, so can he. And he's trying. It's a long, hard road and he doesn't need vigilantes to stand in his way. I needed help to get there and so does he."

"And what if Denzel and Marlene had walked in instead of me and Cloud?" Tifa demanded, because that was truly the scariest thing that had just occurred to her, "Because they heard what was going on too, and they love Sephiroth. He's their friend."

Cloud folded his arms across his chest and glared down at Yuffie, matching Tifa's intensity. "Worse, they might have been caught in the cross fire."

"And make no mistake: we'd hold you accountable if they had gotten hurt."

Yuffie looked away with a pout, trying to hide the guilt ridden expression on her face. "I wouldn't have continued the fight if they had come in."

"Yuffie," Tifa said flatly, lifting her arms to show the marks Yuffie's clawing had left in her arms. The Ninja deflated even more, and she actually showed her embarrassment.

"I did that?"

"Yes. Sephiroth, meanwhile, until you went after his face, was trying to just hold you."

"Forget his face: she was aiming for his eyes." Cloud cut in coldly, as he took a concerned look at Tifa's injuries.

"But he didn't start losing it till she got his face." Tifa pointed out, letting out a soft hiss as Cloud touched a little too close to a particularly nasty scratch.

"You're the one who's lucky he has fast reflexes." Cloud snapped, continuing to lay into the Ninja, now doubly pissed that Tifa had gotten injured as well as the attack, "If you'd hit your mark, you could have released Jenova's essence and the evil soul within Sephiroth back to taint the Lifestream. That's what caused the Geostigma in Midgar _AND_ Wutai."

Yuffie now looking near horrified that she might have unknowingly released Jenova on the world again, stammered as she once again tried to defend her position. "How do we know he's telling the truth about that stuff?"

"Do you really want to take a chance at that?" Cloud queried darkly.

Yuffie remained silent, still trying to process everything, racked by both guilt and her righteous anger.

In the face of the Ninja's silence, and knowing her as well as she did, Tifa let out a tired sigh, "Yuffie, think about what we've told you. I'm going to check on the kids. Does Sephiroth's injury need a potion or a Cure?"

"It's all right; it's already begun to heal," Cloud said.

"Good."

"Besides, our big worry now is salvaging the hard drive from our business laptop." Cloud grumbled. "That was one of Yuffie's collateral victims."

"Yuffie!" Tifa yelled, before burying her face in her hands. "I'll…I'll call our tech guy when it's light."

They were so flustered they barely heard separate footsteps nearing the room. A drowsy looking Sephiroth came in rubbing his face where the cut was. His eyes looked like they had gone back to normal, or as normal as Sephiroth's eyes could be. "Do not worry, I back everything up on disc every week. I have this week's transactions stored on the flash drive."

"Sephiroth, the sleep Materia..." Cloud said, surprised to see him up this fast.

"They don't put me completely out for very long, though I stay in a sleepy stupor for quite some time." Sephiroth said with a well-timed yawn. "Also, this sleepy condition is the only way I could stand to be in the same room with my attempted assassin."

"... Sephiroth, I'm sorry about all this." Tifa murmured, "Perhaps you have an idea for what we should do about Yuffie, here?"

"What's the point? I can't kill her or throw her in prison like I would a normal assassin." Sephiroth said flatly. "If you make her apologize she won't mean it, and punishing her would only add to the long list of her complaints against me."

"Yuffie's going to have lots of time to think about it." Cloud said. "Because I'm not as forgiving at you, Sephiroth. She's not getting her shuriken back until she pays for the damages to my office. AND replaces the laptop."

"What?"

"You heard him!" Tifa cut off the Ninja's outrage. She saw Sephiroth's view, and would respect it, but she was not going to let one of her friends get off THAT lightly for attempting to kill a member of her...household. "And you're not to tell anyone from Wutai about this. We don't need more vigilantes coming after him. Not only that, but you have to swear, on all of Wutai, that you won't do something like this again."

"Otherwise, leave." Cloud finished.

Yuffie seemed to think about it honestly, and gave an honest answer. "I can never forgive you," she said looking Sephiroth in the eye. "But you can sleep easy. Next time when I'm good and ready, I'll call you out instead."

"Fair enough. Name the time and place." Sephiroth nodded. "Just be aware that every assassin who's come after me or 'called me out' has ended up dead."

"He's right." Cloud said, his tone softer now, "And dying doesn't do anybody any good."

"To be honest I think you would be more valuable to your country alive than dying or wounded in the attempt to reap vengeance in its honor." Sephiroth said calmly.

Yuffie seemed to chew on this thought... as she chewed on her lip.

"How's your head?" Cloud directed his question to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth shrugged and showed him his cheek where the slash has mostly healed. "It'll be gone tomorrow."

Tifa went to take a look, careful to keep a foot of distance between her and Sephiroth, not touching him but examining the slash none the less. She'd picked up quite a number of basic medical things while Cloud was catatonic and of course over their adventures. Cures and potions were fantastic, but they couldn't do everything, and it was better if at all possible to just save them for a REAL emergency.

"Do you need peroxide or antiseptic at all?" She finally asked, than backed off once Sephiroth shook his head, "Then I'll check on the kids. Yuffie, come with me."

"Why should I?"

"Because you're going to help me make all of us some tea. As we're all up now thanks to you." Tifa said, grabbing onto an arm and shoving her towards the door. In truth, Tifa just wanted to get Yuffie away from Sephiroth right now. That and Yuffie did know how to make great tea...

"Why are your eyes still glowing then?" Cloud borderline-demanded, once the door had shut safely behind the girls, tensing...

"My body hasn't come down from combat phase yet," Sephiroth said simply, but noticing Cloud's nervousness offered him a small, comforting smile. "Don't worry. Before was not a mental attack from my other-side or Jenova.

"If it wasn't your other-side, what was it?" Cloud pressed further.

"SOLDIER combat phase. By the nature of our structure SOLDIER's eyes glow," Sephiroth explained. "In every human there is an autonomic fight or flight response. In a SOLDIER it is simply a fight response. All of the mako stored in the tissues of my organs is sucked into the blood stream for easy access for muscles nerves and the heart. This includes the blood vessels of the eyes. My eyes tend to glow brighter and tend to stay bright longer than the average SOLDIER. But understand combat phase is different from a Jenova attack. In combat phase I am still self-aware and all of my cognitive functions, for the most part, are intact."

"So I guess I knocked you out for nothing..." Cloud felt a little bit like a jerk for that.

Sephiroth shook his head. "You took the proper precaution. A mental attack causes the same response in my body so my eyes glow as well. You wouldn't know the difference until it was too late. I would have taken the same quick action in your place."

"Herm, thanks. Tifa was the one who grabbed it though, good thing."

Sephiroth nodded. "Sleep Materia is always useful, at least until you develop a resistance to it."

They lapsed into silence again, until Tifa came up with the tea; the wonderful and calming smell of chamomile filled the room with her as she set everything down. There was silence as the four drank their tea, somewhat awkwardly, until Yuffie fell asleep right on Tifa's shoulder.

"You've been very tolerant about…everything…tonight," Tifa finally murmured, over Yuffie's little snores.

"Don't think I'd be that gracious if someone took a chunk out of my face."

"She is not the first and will most likely not be the last." Sephiroth shrugged as he sipped his tea. "Plus, I think the residual sleep spell is having a calming effect, all though it will take much more to put me out for longer with my blood still up like this."

"Speaking of that, I've always wondered how they would keep you under for a surgery or something," Cloud mused. "The rest of the cadets and I all bet they had to hit you over the head with a hammer or something."

Sephiroth smirked with a soft chuckle. "Well, I did not have many surgeries by the general medstaff. But I did wake up during one; that's how I met orthopedic surgeon Brett Harley. They had removed a metal lance that had been imbedded in my thigh during battle. I woke up and almost slit the surgeon's throat with a scalpel before I realized who he was. Luckily he was a very calm fellow and took it in stride, merely informing me that he was a surgeon of SOLDIER and gave me his serial number. He said that because I had contaminated the sterile field he could not be held responsible if I got an infection."

Cloud let out a soft laugh. "Don't think I ever met DR. Harley. Dr. Raker I know I met once while I was a grunt, and Tifa said he was there during my second Mako poisoning..."

"Lucky for you." Tifa commented.

"Yes, Dr. Raker saved my life when an assassin's bullet struck. They developed an anesthetic just for me; it was powerful enough to put a herd of chocobos into a coma for two or three days," Sephiroth said wryly.

"Yeah I bet it would..." Cloud said dryly.

"Sounds like you've been through a lot of this kind of stuff already," Tifa wrinkled her nose. "Still, if someone had slashed my face I'd be pissed on that alone."

"Honestly, I have given myself worse paper cuts," Sephiroth said with a small smirk.

Tifa slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing and waking up Yuffie, while Cloud hid a smile behind his tea cup.

"More shocking was the fact she managed to land a hit on me at all; that's what my combat mode reacted to," Sephiroth said thoughtfully. "Not to mention she had tossed that shuriken in my direction. Unfortunately, she missed me and hit the computer."

"Yeah... new house rule: No Shurikens." Tifa grumbled dryly.

"I think our barging in distracted you. But we heard the fight and, of course we had to see what was going on," Cloud said.

"It was a confusing situation trying to fend off an attacker and protect them at the same time." Sephiroth furrowed his brow, staring intently at his tea cup. "She is lucky I knew it was her before I opened my eyes."

"How did you know?" Tifa quirked an eyebrow.

"I was trying to get to sleep when I heard someone climbing up the outside wall and unlock my window," Sephiroth explained calmly, idly stirring his tea. "As soon as she stepped into the room, I recognized her scent and I played dead, so to speak, just to see what she intended. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard her ready her shuriken. I purposefully rolled myself into a seemingly vulnerable position, lying supine; it is much easier to reach out and stop an attack. I admit, I am a bit rusty though. Several years without a body, I suspect."

"Well, if you ever need to-" Cloud began before getting a pillow to the face from Tifa.

"Don't even finish that sentence. We've talked about you sparring before and that's a big N-O," Tifa snapped.

"Right," Cloud said, an edge of disappointment in his voice. As much as he was glad Gaia was safe and sound, a part of him, the warrior side, missed the exciting life of a mercenary and matching steel with an equally strong opponent.

With that, Tifa gently nudged Yuffie off her shoulder. Yuffie still didn't wake. Tifa gathered up the empty tea cups and took them back downstairs. After Tifa's departure Cloud let out a weary sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It sounds as if we should try to continue sleeping and discuss the situation with the Wutai Princess in the morning," Sephiroth offered.

Cloud shot a furtive look towards the door, just to make sure Tifa wouldn't come up and overhear this. He looked back at Sephiroth and put his thoughts bluntly. "If you like, I think we should spar, as regularly as we can."

While the rest of his expression remained unchanged, Sephiroth's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Pardon if I seem a little surprised at your suggestion that we engage in mock combat."

"I'm not unhappy with this life. Tifa and the kids…an actual home to come back to," Cloud said softly, lowering his head as if he were ashamed at what he was about to say next and that he was daring to complain in even the slightest amount. "But there's still that warrior in me, and it's been restless lately."

"Perhaps my presence awakened it?" Sephiroth asked.

"Maybe. Not being arrogant here when I say... you're the only on the planet who can match me with a blade." A bitter smile came to Cloud's face.

"I have no doubt. I admit I, too, have been feeling anxious lately," Sephiroth said concentrating hard as if trying to reach out and grab distant words to describe his feelings. He was never very good at describing them. "At first I thought it was merely just all of the changes, but it feels more physical than mental. My body feels... like it constantly wants to move even when I sleep."

Sephiroth tugged at a few strands of his hair. "I suppose it's a pent up desire for action or a buildup of energy."

"Exactly." Cloud said, glad he was right in that a Sephiroth would understand.

Still Sephiroth was hesitant. **"**I don't want to make trouble with Tifa – she has done a great deal for me. Perhaps if we talk to her, explain the situation of our condition, she might..."

Cloud shook his head. He loved Tifa, but she could be a bit bull headed sometimes. "She may be a warrior, but she hasn't been injected with mako or been subject to the same regimens as us. Kind of like trying to understand when it's her time of the month, it's something you can't explain... you just have to feel it."

"And she'd never trust us to stop ourselves from going too far." Cloud added dryly.

"And you are not worried about that yourself?" Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow and looked at Cloud in all earnestness. "I have not been in a combat situation since my awakening. I cannot guarantee what I might do..."

Cloud nodded. "I've thought of that. But isn't the same true if you just let that SOLDIER instinct, that need to fight, fester and grow? Plus, sparring will help keep me in shape just in case, Gaia forbid, Jenova rears her head again."

"Fair point. Letting it build up would be more unpredictable," Sephiroth said. "So how shall we go about it? Hand to hand? Weapons?"

"Let's start with hand to hand, get familiar with each other's strength. Weapons later." Cloud said resting his head on his fist, "Now we'll have to find a place to do it. Someplace hidden, away from the city.

"The swamps near Kalm?" Sephiroth suggested. "Or the edge of the wastelands."

"Swamp would leave too much evidence. Edge of the wastelands..." Cloud furrowed his brow as he thought. "Could work. A little open, but if we're far enough away that won't matter."

"A sound plan." Sephiroth said, a little disappointed that he would still not be seeing Masamune for quite some time yet. He knew logically it was best for the time being to keep his weapon of mass destruction out of his hands until it was certain that he had Jenova and his other half at bay on a more permanent basis. But still he missed his sword, as a child missed their favorite teddy bear.

At that moment Yuffie let out a groan and rolled into a seemingly less than comfortable position.

"Should we wake her? She will most likely have a pinched nerve in her neck in the morning," Sephiroth said nonchalantly as if he were not concerned at all one way or the other.

The two men exchanged glances and shook their heads as they had the simultaneous thought of. _"Nah..."_

000

Vega: I'd say Yuffie will get her just desserts in the morning.

Chica: Oooooh I'd say so. But yeah for sparring buddies?

Vega: If she's not careful Cloud and Seph might use her for target practice

Chica: Aie-ya! I'unno, she might actually like that. XD


	12. Friendly Spar

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta _SephirothxAerith_ for Betaing and all of her contributions._

_000_

_Sephiroth stood in front of a marble statue, carved into the shape of a woman holding a wounded SOLDIER. It was in the new memorial ShinRa had commissioned in honor of the SOLDIERs who died in the war with Wutai. An effort to muster good public opinion and support behind SOLDIER_

_The statue could be interpreted in different ways: a woman holding her lover; a wife and her husband; or a mother finding her broken son. The silver haired general wondered if now, anyone else would hold him so tenderly at the moment of his death. The one he knew who would do that was far away and might not come back._

_It brought back the old fear he had as a child that he would die alone._

_There was a loud yell behind him and someone called his name in an angry voice. He slowly turned around to find a man not two feet away with a gun raised, aimed directly at his chest. At the distance he could still dodge the shot if he timed it right, or at least move enough to keep it from being a mortal shot._

_And yet he did not move. All of these sad thoughts made him strangely numb to the idea of being killed. With his Songbird gone, what was there to live for? Did he have anymore right to live than those he had killed in the war? How many lovers, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children, had he ripped from people's lives? How many Genesises had he taken from others who capable of loving better than he?_

_The shot rang out stinging his ear before he felt the white hot pain in his chest. He felt the bullet's impact throw him off balance and steal his breath._

_Dark shapes hovered about him as he stared at the ceiling, their faces blurring in an out with his vision before he could identify them. Then a horrible realization hit him: if he died, he would NEVER see Genesis again. _

_No. He couldn't die now, even though his Songbird was far away. So long as he was alive, there was a chance. He had to live!_

_Suddenly one shape of all the dark faces became startlingly clear. Spiky blond hair and sad blue eyes. Sephiroth's eyes widened, it was impossible, they hadn't even met yet._

_Cloud...?_

000

Weak pre-dawn beams had awoken Cloud, as they usually did. His normal routine though was to pull Tifa a little closer and then doze five more minutes. But not today, because today Cloud had a plan – one that involved a little sneaking around and most importantly... Tifa not finding out. _Ever._ The Swordsman listened intently for a few moments, trying to get a sense of who was up and about, but his enhanced hearing picked up nothing more than heavy breathing and rustling of blankets from dream-twitching limbs.

Perfect.

Cloud made his moves carefully as he slid of the bed, dressed as silently as possible. First, though he couldn't resist planting a kiss on Tifa's cheek, and was pleased as she smiled and murmured something in her sleep. He then slipped out of the room and avoided the creaky boards on his way down the hall. He broke one of the house rules, but excused himself for the need for secrecy, and entered his office without knocking.

Sephiroth lay on his cot, a feint moaning coming from his throat, his fingers gripping his pillows hard.

Cloud hesitated as he watched Sephiroth toss and turn in his sleep. It still took him aback to see the man who had been his hero and bane of his existence for the better part of decade, vulnerable in the grip of a nightmare like everyone else. The man had had enough trouble last night; shaking him awake didn't seem like a good idea. In a split second, the blond decided to use a different approach. Within his office was a bathroom, with a sink. There, he filled a glass with icy cold water, and came to Sephiroth.

"Sorry about this Sephiroth..." Cloud whispered before the water went flying straight into the other man's face.

Sephiroth awoke with a startled cry as the cold water hit his face. Sitting bolt upright, it took him a few seconds to catch his breath and get his bearings. He blinked a few times trying to identify where he was. It was not at the ShinRa memorial. His hand went to his chest where the gun shot hit him. No bullet. No blood. No wound.

The silver haired man let out a relieved sigh, before looking over at Cloud. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Cloud took the clothes Sephiroth had set out the night before, a habit of military life, and set them next to their owner's feet. "Get dressed; today's our best bet to start our sparring."

"Oh... you were serious." Sephiroth looked from the clothes to Cloud, slight surprise evident in his eyes.

"Yes." Now it was Cloud's turn for surprise, "You weren't?"

"I was, but I thought you might be wary to engage me in combat. Our last fight ended up with you impaled," Sephiroth stated.

"It was just through the shoulder." Cloud attempted to sound rather blasé about it.

"I was referring to Nibelheim, when you last fought _me_..." Sephiroth corrected, for he was in the lifestream when Cloud fought Jenova and his other self a year ago.

"... I've improved since then." Flat. Toneless.

"And this time you won't have a Mako reactor to throw me in," Sephiroth challenged.

Cloud narrowed his eyes, "And this time you won't have Masamune."

"Fair point," Sephiroth conceded after a tense pause. "I just want to make sure you can't say I didn't warn you," he added in a "matter of fact" tone.

"I'll bear that in mind." Cloud snapped, "Meet me in the garage. We'll have to walk Fenrir a block or so, but it's less noticeable then the truck being missing. Plus Tifa'll need the truck for later."

Sephiroth nodded. "All right. I'll get dressed and be down in five minutes. Where are we going?"

"Edge of the wastelands, like you suggested."

He stopped and quirked an eyebrow at Cloud. "Should we leave a note or text for Tifa?"

"I left a note for her on the kitchen table. Said I was taking you along to help me hunt for the shorter routes."

Sephiroth nodded again. "It wouldn't do for her to come out and search for us in the middle of our session."

The image that produced caused Cloud to openly cringe, "No, it wouldn't do at all."

000

Sephiroth looked around the barren landscape, monotone and cracked against the grey sky: the dead skin of the planet.

"I wonder what it looked like before ShinRa," Sephiroth said widening his stance and leaned down to touch his toes to give his legs and back a good stretch.

"Grasslands, if this area is anything to go by." Cloud responded, arching his torso back until his hands met the ground and he rose into a handstand. It was nice to have a chance to warm up before fighting.

"I wonder if wild Chocobos ran about here," Sephiroth murmured absently, rising up to a straight position before doing a few walking lunges.

"There must have been some source of water nearby, if they did. There would've been Bandersnatches or Kalm Fangs here, too." Cloud came down from a handstand, doing a few squats and then, half rising up from one, holding in a 'chair' stance.

Sephiroth stopped his lunges and began doing some squats himself. "Angeal's garden is about a mile from here I think."

"Zack never said much about him." Cloud murmured, straightening up and twisting to one side while pinning an arm to his back, "I know I went on a mission or two involving him." Cloud made a note to pay his respects to Angeal later. It had been his defection, after all, that got Cloud sent on that fateful first mission with Zack.

On the last squat, Sephiroth sprung into a back-flip and then three more continuously before stopping. He finished the landing and then slumped a little as his eyes saddened. "Yes... They were very close..." He lowered his voice even softer. "It should have been him to come back..."

"... The Planet felt differently... and... she sees things better than us, even if we don't like it. I'd trust her."

"Yes," Sephiroth nodded and offered him a calm smile. "After all, who would have foreseen a moment like this between you and I?"

"No one I know," Cloud returned, smiling too.

"I am ready when you are," Sephiroth took a readied stance.

Cloud held himself still, before taking a running lunge at the other man, who easily blocked the attack and lashed back. Cloud sidestepped, grabbing hold of Sephiroth's arm and catching himself when Sephiroth attempted to flip him over. Sephiroth, having foreseen this maneuver, flipped himself so that as he landed, he did a twist-around, getting Cloud's stomach area with his forearm. Cloud let out a grunt before kicking out to force Sephiroth back. Then he went for the other man's ankles.

Sephiroth predicted the move coming, and twisted his body in the air to instead land on his hands in a hand spring to flip backwards and put some distance between him and Cloud.

Cloud couldn't keep a small smirk from his face as Sephiroth came at him again. This was different from fighting Jenova's Sephiroth, whether blocking or attacking, no move was wasted. Every step was measured; every strike was timed and sure.

Cloud felt his own heart pounding in his ears with the adrenaline coursing through his veins; his muscles were all but singing as the blood rushed through his body, his mind ablaze as he was forced to recoup and re-strategize. With Sephiroth, who was his equal in strength and stamina, he would not have to hold back. He could finally release all that tension and anger without restraint. Yes. This was what he'd been missing!

Sephiroth launched himself at Cloud again. As Cloud went for the punch, Sephiroth tucked and rolled under Cloud's attack and quickly got to his feet. He attempted a kick from behind, but Cloud spun around and blocked the attack with both of his arms. In turn, Cloud used the block to push away and lunge back at Sephiroth.

They continued in this way for almost 50 minutes, exchanging punches and kicks, dodges and blocks until finally they both went in for 'the kill' with a punch and each slammed the other in the face.

Cloud jerked back, instinctively covering the eye that Sephiroth had struck, barely seeing Sephiroth reaching for his jaw. Cloud cursed inside his head as he lowered his hand to reveal a rapidly blackening eye. Meanwhile, Sephiroth rubbed his jaw, and opened and closed his mouth a few times to test it before finally speaking.

"Good strike, not enough to break the bone though."

"It will be when Tifa gets hold of us!" Cloud snapped, panic brightening his blue eyes.

Sephiroth's shoulder slumped a little. "Ah yes, I had not considered that..."

Cloud touched the tender flesh of his eye and hissed in pain, then turned to Sephiroth. "How bad is it?"

"Like I just hit you," Sephiroth said simply.

Cloud cursed aloud this time. "Bad... very, very, very bad."

"Do we have any cure materia or potion?" Sephiroth asked, raising an eyebrow at Cloud's sudden onset of fear.

"It's the one thing I forgot to pack! Plenty of sleep, no cures." Cloud grumbled, beginning to pace. "She's going to kill me! She's going to break every bone in our bodies and then kill me!"

"I very doubt she would end your life over this..."Sephiroth said watching Cloud pace back and forth pensively.

"I don't." Cloud shot back, "She'll _have _to leave you alive, but I don't have any protection."

Sephiroth absently rubbed his jaw again. "Do you think she will believe we were attacked?"

"... she might."

"Hmm..." Sephiroth mumbled thoughtfully, trying to remember what tended to roam around these parts of Midgar. Back in the days of SOLDIER, nary a beast show its face within Midgar's city limits without getting its head cut off.

"Zoloms." Cloud hit on it, "That's about all she'd gonna believe with the two of us out here."

"I thought they were only around Kalm..." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"Every now and then one wonders its way here," Cloud noted, brows now creased in thought.

"Perhaps since SOLDIER is gone there is nothing for them to be afraid of," Sephiroth said thoughtfully.

Cloud nodded. "Quieter too. None of the reactors or people or city noise like Midgar."

Sephiroth returned the nod. "We should get back and get it over with."

"Yeah... we'd better..." Cloud said with a weary sigh.

000

Both men exchanged worried glances as they pulled up to 7th Heaven's garage.

"Ready?" Sephiroth asked softly.

"Yes." Cloud said as he dismounted Fenrir a little slower than normal, "Let's just make sure we have it straight. I took you along to look at some possible shorter routes; we got attacked about half -way out."

"Affirmative," Sephiroth nodded firmly.

When they both entered the house, all seemed quiet except for the TV in the other room.

"Maybe we can sneak upstairs and get the materia," Cloud whispered with an edge of hope.

"Cloud?" Tifa's voice called from the kitchen over the sounds of something sizzling, "Sephiroth? That you?" Her footsteps echoed loudly as she headed towards the garage door from the dining area, where they were.

"I was getting lunch ready-" She stopped dead the second her eyes caught sight of the black on Cloud's eyes and the purple of Sephiroth's jaw, "What happened?" Her eyes took on a dangerous flicker.

"We got into a bit of a scrap with Zolom while looking for short cuts to my routes," Cloud immediately burst out, before Tifa got any angrier.

"... a Zolom." Tifa repeated, her tone flat in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that?"

"It is not uncommon for Zolom to migrate in search of new territory, and without SOLDIER or the noises of the city to frighten them, it's not unlikely for them to start branching out again." Sephiroth decided to jump in before Tifa began to think too hard, "However, Cloud's injury was some carelessness on my part. I have not worked alongside a partner in quite some time. I should have shortened the ark of my swing."

The claret eyes narrowed even further, and her focus shifted from one to the other, effectively pinning them to the spot, her tone as disbelieving as the rest of her, "Uh huh... And the bruising on your jaw?"

"Again, I have not worked with a partner in a while. I failed to notice Cloud's movements as well." Sephiroth explained coolly with a straight face. After all it was the truth, he had failed to see Cloud's movements, and sadly he had not worked with a partner since before his death.

"Where _exactly_ was this again?" Tifa demanded further, one foot beginning a slow tap,

"Outter rim of the wasteland. You know where the desert turns to grass?" Cloud thought it was best to compliment the lie with a grain of truth.

"We were there." Sephiroth backed him up as vague as possible.

Tifa pursed her lips, unhappy about all this but lacking proof that they were lying to her... other than her gut, which, while not nearly to Sephiroth's level when it came to lies and plots afoot, was refined with years of slum life, eco-terrorism... and when it came to a certain blond swordsman.

Both men stood there sweating bullets internally, whilst waiting to see if she would buy their ruse.

"Alright..." Tifa finally relented, relaxing her stance and eyes a bit, "this one is a freebie."

"We will exercise more caution in the future." Sephiroth said formally.

"Good." She turned back to the kitchen, "Now both of you go get cleaned up."

"New rule." Cloud breathed once they were safely out of Tifa's earshot, "No hitting each other's faces."

"...And bring Cure Materia."

"Along with a potion or two." Cloud quipped before the two men separated to their respective quarters.

000

_Vega: *phew* the boys sure dodged a bullet on that one._

_Chica: Yeah, but at least they had some brotherly bonding time._

_Vega: Yup. Nothing will bring two people together better than trying to keep a secret from Tifa._


	13. Banora White

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions_

000

Sephiroth and Cloud sat rather anxiously in the small austere white waiting room. The man they were about to meet was one of the few people still alive who knew Sephiroth before his untimely "death" at Nibelheim. Normally they would try to avoid that type of person – besides Reeve – at all costs; however Sephiroth assured both Tifa and Cloud that he had known Dr. Jarrod Raker for many years and that he was the type of man who would be discreet in this situation. But even still, Sephiroth himself was apprehensive; it had been almost 10 years and a LOT had changed since those days. People tended to change along with the times.

The kids were understandably impatient – they wanted to see the chocobos – and making sure the adults knew it, but Cloud had insisted they wait to make sure Sephiroth even got in through the door… If things went badly Cloud wanted to be there to help smooth things over; if things went well then he wanted to finally thank the doctor for practically saving his life in Mideel. As Cloud tried his best to keep the kids in check (therefore out of trouble), Sephiroth was trying to keep himself distracted by rereading the program requirements.

"Denzel, Marlene! If I hear one more word – JUST ONE – in the next ten minutes and we'll just go _straight home_ after this. No Chocobo farm at all!" The blond swordsman finally threatened, with the immediate result of the children shushing up and sinking lower into their chairs. Cloud shot a glance towards the door, praying Dr. Raker would emerge soon before the kids got antsy again.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing from the office in the back and someone's footsteps coming down the hallway toward the door that separated the waiting from the offices. However, they stopped just as they got to the secretary's desk; the figure was still concealed by a column placed there.

"Janice, is there anymore coffee in the break room?"

Cloud noticed Sephiroth visibly tense at the sound of the voice.

"Yup, just made a fresh pot," the receptionist chirped

"Would you mind getting me one while I see my next visitors?"

"Certainly, I'll have it for you in a jiffy," the young woman said before getting up to fetch it.

As soon as the receptionist was out of sight, Sephiroth cleared his throat rather loudly to get Dr. Raker's attention.

"I'm coming General," Raker said as he finally came through the door. "It really is you."

"Good to see you again doctor," Sephiroth nodded respectfully.

"I think we'd better take this into my office; my secretary will be back any minute." Sephiroth nodded and rose to follow him, his companions following suit.

Catching a glimpse of Cloud, Dr. Raker found himself asking, "Strife?"

Cloud gave his usual semi-vague smile, "Yes Doctor."

Raker returned the smile with a small one of his own. "I thought I recognized that head of hair. Are you looking to enter the program too or...?"

"No, Doctor. But Sephiroth needed to see you and I felt I owed you at least a thank you for when you treated me."

"You're welcome. Glad to see you have been doing well, and keeping quite busy saving the world…" Raker said with a slight smirk.

"It wasn't just me." Cloud pointed out modestly, though he had a small grin.

"Cloud's the best!" Denzel cheered before clamping a hand over his mouth while getting a whack on the shoulder from Marlene. But Cloud's flash of a small smile quickly soothed them.

"Am I right in deducing Sephiroth is staying with you?" Raker asked.

"He and his significant other have been gracious enough to allow it while I go through school," Sephiroth explained.

"He's also working with the office end of our businesses," Cloud added.

Raker nodded, retaking a firm formal expression on his face. "Well, that answers one of my questions. If you'll come with me Sephiroth, we can get to answering the rest and see about getting you into the program."

As they headed towards the door, Cloud called out, "Call me when you're ready Sephiroth. I'll just take the monsters here for some sight-seeing."

"Thank you Cloud," Sephiroth nodded before following Raker back to his office.

"Have a seat," Raker motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk.

Sephiroth sat down, the apprehension growing in him as, no doubt now that they were away from prying ears, Raker would start asking questions regarding his very presence after ShinRa had reported him dead after Nibelheim.

"Well first and foremost I should like to ask how are you alive and where have you been?" Raker went right for the jugular.

Sephiroth mentally winced; it was the very question he dreaded. "That's a complicated and long story."

"Well when I saw you were coming I kept my schedule clear for at least two hours," Raker said stoically.

Sephiroth went over all the possibilities in his mind: all the fake stories and lies he could tell. But looking honestly at the man sitting across from him it was hard to lie to the face of one of the few people who didn't treat him like a freak or an experiment or an objected to be admired on a distant pedestal. After all, this man had saved his life on more than one occasion, and shielded him from Hojo during his recovery after an assassination attempt. He decided to trust Raker's discretion with the whole story, whether the surgeon believed him or not.

Raker's face remained neutral except for his eyes, which widened more and more as Sephiroth went on. Finally, when Sephiroth finished, the doctor let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I knew if there was someone who would come back from the dead, it would be you. The goddess seems to favor you none the less."

"I suppose..." Sephiroth murmured.

"They say that the gods judge you not by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others: whether you believe it or not, you were loved; unfortunately just not by the people who should have loved you by default, but all the young people you inspired; the soldiers who would lay down their lives for you; the towns you saved from monsters, that's a kind of love too. Not to mention... well no, I'll not mention him as it looks like a touchy subject."

Sephiroth smiled wanly. "Thank you. Though this second life is all so... new."

Raker shook his head. "It's a whole new world even for the people who lived through it. I was lucky I got out and moved back here before things really hit the fan with ShinRa. It wasn't the same after you and Zack... 'disappeared' and Winchester was killed by an Avalanche attack."

"Things had changed long before then," Sephiroth said softly.

Raker nodded slowly, knowing things were never quite the same since Genesis and Angeal had "departed". "Yes... It was just more noticeable then."

Seeing Sephiroth's progressively maudlin expression, Raker decided it was time to change the subject.. "I'm sorry..." He cleared his throat. "So you are looking to get into the nursing program?"

Sephiroth straightened himself a little more, focusing on his reason for his visit here, "Yes. Tifa and I were discussing my options for a career, and this appealed to me the most."

"Well, having you assist me before in emergency situations on the battlefield," Raker stated, "I can say that I've already witnessed your precision with sharp objects and attention to detail, not to mention your ability to absorb vast amounts of information in a short period of time – you practically read through all of my medical school books while you recovered from your assassin injury."

"They were intriguing... learning how the various systems and chemicals work to keep the body alive."

"The question is, are you willing to be taught and have someone else telling you what to do?" Raker smirked a little in challenge.

"Even in SOLDIER before I became general, I was able to take orders from a superior officer." Sephiroth explained firmly. "I am a professional and I will act in a professional manner. And...with a little bit of feeling too, as I know I will be dealing with wounded people… Cloud and the children have helped me with that aspect," Sephiroth finished with a small smile.

"Good answer," Raker nodded in approval. "All right; I'll get you in"

"Thank you, doctor." The Jade eyes did indeed reflect the former-general's gratitude.

"Well, everyone deserves a second chance – particularly you," the surgeon stated matter-of-factly. "If the planet deemed you worthy enough to have a second chance, far be it from me to stand in your way. And even if the planet hadn't, I would still help you, for all those who didn't when you needed it."

"Thank you…" It was a barely audible whisper.

"You're welcome." Raker said with a small smile. "So I'll take you back to the main desk and Janice will have you fill out an application, I'll handle it personally. Do you have any identification papers, birth certificate and such?"

"I have my birth certificate here, as well as proof of schooling." The paperwork was then presented to Raker.

Raker took the papers and began to look through them carefully to ensure Sephiroth had everything needed so the application process would go as smoothly as possible. "Well, I will say this: there was one thing good you got out of that mad scientist; you got a good education on anatomy and physiology, that will definitely give you a leg up. Oh, I remember when you took that cadaver lab, poor Alfred called me up to teach the class when he heard you were coming."

"That was an enjoyable experience, to understand the pieces that make up a whole organism, rather than how to best kill someone."

"Still, you did very well at getting the skull open. A neurosurgeon couldn't have done it better. And don't worry about that one student: we always have at least one or two fainters at that part," Raker said with an amused smile tugging at his lips.

"If you cannot handle the sight of blood or organs, why go to a cadaver lab?" Sephiroth wondered aloud with his usual blunt honesty.

Raker shrugged. "Well it's one of those things where don't know how you're going to react until you're there. I mean, seeing a skinned knee is one thing, but seeing even a dead person's skull opened is a little alarming. But that being said, some of my finest colleagues were fainters at that first lab; they fainted once and never again.

"Some of the best SOLDIERs were those most afraid when holding a weapon for the first time," Sephiroth allowed.

"Just goes to show first impressions can be deceiving," Raker said with a soft chuckle.

Thinking of a certain, skinny, wide-eyed, slack-jawed blonde trooper, Sephiroth found that logic infallible, "They can indeed..."

000

The children were practically bouncing out of their seats when they all arrived at the Chocobo farm. Cloud knew the owner quite well and was always welcome. He pulled up near one of the pastures where some of the large birds were grazing. It was the perfect time of the year to come, for the baby Chocobos had hatched and were just allowed to go outside with their mothers. A chorus of friendly wharks greeted them as the children ran up to the fence.

"Ooooh! Look at the little ones!" Marlene cooed, as a gaggle of chicks bustled to the front, chirping and clacking their little beaks, eyes eager to see these 'new things.'

Much to Cloud's chagrin, and annoyance, he received more than a little undue attention from some of the yellow chocobos, a big female in particular was following him, wharking and warbling at him. "Shoo! Go away!"

While trying to shield his hair from the prying beak, Cloud snuck a glance over at Sephiroth who was petting a large blue chocobo. It was quite a relieving site; most chocobos could read the intentions of others and either attack or panic if they sensed danger, so for the big male chocobo to stand so calmly and be petted indicated that Sephiroth indeed had a good heart and Jenova was well suppressed.

Sephiroth looked over and could not suppress a small smile as more chocobos began to crowd Cloud, including the chocobo he had been petting. Instead Sephiroth knelt down, peering through the opening between the wood posts at a small chocobo hiding near a bush. With a few soft clicks of his tongue and a few whistles he beckoned the shy baby chocobo over.

Marlene clapped her hands and skipped over to stand next to Sephiroth and pet the baby too.

Sephiroth smiled at the adorable sight of Marlene petting the baby. Since she and Denzel had sort of adopted him as their big brother, they were the only people since Genesis and Angeal who could block out Jenova's voice completely. Their innocent happiness constantly reminded Sephiroth of all the things he did cherish in life and wanted to protect. Things that Jenova and his own desire for vengeance made him forget and want to destroy the world for the evils done to him.

There was a loud yelp and Sephiroth almost laughed when he saw Cloud trying to free a bit of his hair from the beak of a large female. Denzel meanwhile had no trouble laughing as hard as he could.

"Brings back old memories, doesn't it Cloud?" Sephiroth called over.

Cloud finally pulled his hair free and took a few steps away from the adoring birds, before giving his head a shake to let his spikey hair bounce back in place on its own.

"That one time we were the chocobo stables back in SOLDIER," Sephiroth elaborated going back to petting the baby chocobo. "Zack had brought you there to show you his mount, Zeke."

Cloud frowned in confusion, trying to remember exactly what Sephiroth was referring to, his memories from before the labs was still occasionally fractured and vague. The image of a barn came to his mind... and Zack laughing hysterically... but why...?

An expression of horror came to Cloud's features as in a rush the memories came back to him.

"What happened?" Denzel asked of Sephiroth, knowing well enough that Cloud wasn't going to tell him. Cloud cleared his throat, than twitched when the Chocobo who had held his hair captive let out a rather loud 'whark!'*

Sephiroth continued the story with a slight smirk in Cloud's direction. "Well an egg of one of the mare chocobos was broken and her maternal instincts hadn't quite subsided yet. Apparently the urge to parent was so strong it was looking for something with the slightest resemblance to a chick to nurture, and apparently in that state it could not tell the difference between feathers and hair. And with Cloud's choice of hair style, it thought Cloud was its long lost chick."

"My hair was NOT like a Chocobo's! The stupid bird probably had vision problems!" Cloud snarled over the children's laughter."

Sephiroth frowned. "That was one of my best chocobos..."

Marlene's eyes grew sad and hugged the baby chocobo. "The poor Chocobo! It just wanted its baby!"

Denzel now quite recovered from his giggles nodded at Marlene. "Like Seph said. And Tifa always tells us grief can do weird stuff to you."

"Well it wasn't very fun being sat on." Cloud grumbled indignantly, a little louder than he intended.

The two kids looked at Cloud, then at each other and then back at Cloud before bursting out in laughter at the mental image.

"She SAT on you?" Denzel howled, laughter overtaking him again.

"And then began to preen him." Sephiroth added simply, with a "That's what you get for insulting my Chocobo," smirk.

However, seeing Cloud flush bright red and look away total humiliated, Sephiroth decided to be merciful and finish the story. "We gave the chocobo a tranquilizer and managed to get her off him, but not before Zack snapped a few pictures."

"He would..." But a smile still twitched at his Cloud's lips, because Zack would've also safe guarded the pictures from anyone else.

Well, with maybe ONE exception.

0000

On the car ride home, the kids chatted excited back and forth about the chocobos and the multicolored fallen feathers they had collected. Sephiroth meanwhile stared distantly out the window, a content expression on his face, silently reminiscing about better days and not feeling sad over them.

Then in the distance, not long after they had crossed the border back into the wastelands, Sephiroth saw a glint of something white on a nearby ridge. His sharp vision focused on the object trying discern what it was and if it was dangerous or not. He felt his heart stop when he realized what it was.

A white wing.

"Cloud stop the car!" Sephiroth ordered firmly.

On instinct Cloud did as he was ordered before asking questions. When he stopped, he realized what he was doing. But before he could even ask, Sephiroth was already out the door and running toward the ridge.

As Sephiroth neared the ridge he started to make out a figure along with the wing. They were tall, dark and broad figured, just like …..

In a flash with one sweep of the wing, the figure was gone. Still Sephiroth continued to the top of the ridge. For the second time in a few minutes Sephiroth felt as if his heart might stop. There in the ground, where the figure had been standing a moment before was a Banora White sapling.

When Cloud made his way up to the ridge he found Sephiroth on his knees before a small tree. It was strange to see something so green and pristine amongst the great dry dirt. Even odder than its very existence in this wasteland was the glowing light around the tree. He had seen this light before; it had surrounded Aerith and Zack when they said their final good-bye after the second defeat of Seph-no Jenova.

Looking down at Sephiroth kneeling by the tree, Cloud couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. He looked like...

Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning. He had been here before, in this place, in this very spot; not one of Zack's memories but his own. He had been staring down at Zack who was kneeling in front of a small dead tree. Just after Angeal...

Zack had been crying then, one of the only times he had ever seen the jovial SOLDIER shed tears.

Cloud blinked coming back to himself in time to see Sephiroth's shoulders begin to shake. Automatically he reached out and put hand on the silver haired man's shoulder. Sephiroth froze at the touch, and Cloud regretted not remembering Sephiroth's penchant for not showing emotions in front of others.

"It's okay," Cloud said quietly, the only thing his racing mind could come up with. "I miss them too."

"Do you think sins are ever truly forgiven?" Sephiroth asked his voice hoarse.

Before the attempted reunion, Cloud had asked himself that many times and for once he found a satisfying answer. "Yeah, but has to come from both sides; forgiveness from them, your forgiveness to others who wronged you... and forgive yourself for mistakes."

"I may be beyond such," Sephiroth whispered, still not looking around.

"If you were, the planet wouldn't have sent you back; Aerith and Zack wouldn't have helped you; and Tifa and I wouldn't have taken you in." Cloud said calmly.

There was a moment of thick silence, before Sephiroth let out a breath and turned his head slightly so half of his face could be seen behind his bangs. A faint "thank you" smile tugged at his lips.

"I think there is only person I need forgiveness from now," Sephiroth looked back at the tree and gently ran his fingers down the trunk. "...before I can forgive myself."

Cloud stood quietly, allowing the wind to blow through his hair.

"May I be alone for a moment? This place once belonged to a friend of mine. I am ready to mourn as I could not before, because I didn't know how." Sephiroth brushed the back of his hand against the soft leaves of the tree.

Cloud nodded, and returned to the car and the kids.

"Cloud! Is Sephiroth okay?" Denzel got out of the truck when the other man approached.

"He misses some of his friends from a long time ago," Cloud said quietly.

"Does he need somebody to hold his hand?" Marlene asked.

"No Marlene," Cloud murmured, smiling to reassure the youngster, "It's a nice thought, but sometimes people need to be alone to work through things."

"Like you?" Marlene asked touching his arm where the geostigma used to be.

Cloud smiled a little and patted her head. "Yes. But in a slightly more healthy way then I did. He's just saying good-bye to a friend."

0000

The trip home was a mostly silent one with both Cloud and Sephiroth not speaking at all, and the children keeping their voices soft as if sensing sadness radiating off Sephiroth. When they pulled up to 7th Heaven, Cloud instructed the kids to go play for a while, knowing some peace and quiet for an hour or so would be good for Sephiroth…not to mention Cloud would have to handle a flustered Tifa at arriving home so late.

Tifa had the door open before they could even turn the knob. "What the hell took you so long? And no phonecall? If you answer 'Zolom', I'm kicking both your asses!"

"No... not a Zolom." Cloud said solemnly, which almost instantly quieted Tifa down; she'd seen that expression before, and it was no time to riding their butts.

Sephiroth brushed past both of them without a word, using his bangs as a curtain to conceal his expression.

"What happened out there?" Tifa asked, all anger lost and genuine concern in her voice, "Did Sephiroth not get into the program? Did one of the Chocobos die in front of the kids? What?"

"We found the tree," Cloud murmured.

"Tree? What tr-" A small gasp, "You mean..."

"It's alive."

Tifa quickly braced herself against the wall. "How...?"

Cloud shook his head wearily. "I don't know..." Slowly, a faint smile tugged at his lips as he remembered that ethereal moment when he saw Aerith and Zack in the church just after his last fight with Yazoo and Loz. "Magic I guess... Sephiroth said he saw white wings near it, but only for a moment."

"Well... I've always believed in magic... and angels." Tifa said somewhat wistfully, than turned to look to where Sephiroth had disappeared, "Should I...?"

Cloud halted her from following Sephiroth. "Maybe not right now, he's dealing with some bad memories. I think he had an attack earlier."

"You _think?_ You didn't see it?"

"I left him alone to grieve for a while. First time he's had to. He came back shaking," Cloud said stoically.

"Still!" Tifa insisted quietly.

"Well obviously he dealt with it; he's got to learn how to deal with it by himself," Cloud said firmly.

"And if he hadn't?"

"First Tsuguri would have blood on it, and then the kids would be crying." Cloud said sadly.

Tifa pressed her lips together, more chastisement on her mind, but it seemed rather pointless... and there was a familiar sadness in Cloud's blue eyes, so she knew it wasn't just Sephiroth who'd had memories stirred up. "Just... be more careful next time, okay?"

Cloud nodded, his head still bowed slightly in that sad way Tifa had seen before, as if Cloud was trying to shut out the world. There was only one cure for that, so she went over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him into a loose hug, and, seeing as the kids were elsewhere, snatched a kiss from his lips.

"Are _you_ alright?" She asked.

Cloud looked back at Tifa and thought about Sephiroth's apparent love for Genesis that stretched even beyond death. And yet they had been fated to part from one another with only cruel words as parting speeches. It made him ache wondering if such a thing could happen to him and Tifa. Life and happiness were strong and yet so fragile that it could be taken away at any second. If, Gaia forbid, that should ever happen to them, Cloud wanted to be sure that Tifa always knew that she was his world.

"When was the last time I told you I loved you?" Cloud asked softly.

"Mmmm, too long ago." Tifa told him, impish little smile curving her lips beautifully.

"I love you..."

"I'll always love you, Chocobo-head."

0000

Chica's Chatter: And we end with sweet fluff. ^^

Vega: Always a good way to end!


	14. Early AM

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta SephirothxAerith for Betaing and all of her contributions_

_000  
_

_Sephiroth stood on the edge of the 50 story skyscraper... so close in fact that his toes were beginning to curl over the side. Oblivion lay at the bottom of those 50 stories, sweet oblivion for a 17 year old puppet with his strings being pulled every which way by the ShinRa empire and a mad scientist. What meaning did life have for a puppet? Slowly he began to lean forward toward the blackness below. _

"_**Stop!**__"_

_Startled Sephiroth straightened away from the edge, and whirled around, but managed to retain some semblance of composure. Jogging up to him was another SOLDIER about his age and judging by the uniform, a 2nd Class SOLDIER at that. The other SOLDIER had auburn hair and aqua marine eyes that gave the impression of being a brilliant blue even before the mako enhancement. He had ivory skin and a face with such refined features that he looked like he should be the pampered playboy son of a CEO, not a second class SOLDIER._

"_What are you yelling about?" Sephiroth snapped coldly, understandably irritated that someone had interrupted his attempt to leave this world. "What are you doing up here anyways?"_

_The other youth shifted uncomfortably and absently scratched the back of his head, yet he looked more embarrassed than afraid of Sephiroth, "On guard duty sir. With all the big wigs down there the Turks have their hands full as it is."_

"_Then be on your way SOLDIER," Sephiroth said solemnly, turning back to the building ledge, hoping the other SOLDIER would just go. No such luck._

"_Are you sure are you all right, sir?" The other SOLDIER asked making no effort to hide the concern in his voice._

"_Even if I wasn't, what concern is it of yours?" Sephiroth muttered._

"_Well, as my commanding officer it is one of my duties to protect you." The other SOLDIER answered firmly taking a step forward, before adding in a more somber tone, "and I was wondering why someone like you would feel that there was nothing to live for."_

_Sephiroth felt a bitter taste creep into his mouth at the other SOLDIER's words. Everyone assumed he had everything. No one understood the price he paid for it... "I do not think that is any of your business SOLDIER."_

"_Well, as a SOLDIER, no, I guess it wouldn't be," the other SOLDIER said softly, but took a few more steps forward, continuing, "but as a fellow human being I can't just walk away until I'm sure you're okay. If I walked away now, and did nothing and you killed yourself, then it would be just as if I pushed you myself."_

_Sephiroth was a little taken aback to be considered human by someone, particularly a SOLDIER subordinate who either looked at him with a blind adoration or whispered that he was a weird freak of nature. "Ridiculous.__ It would be my decision; you would not be held responsible by ShinRa."_

_The redheaded SOLDIER daringly took a few more steps forward so he was standing beside Sephiroth at the edge of the building. "No, but my own conscience would get to me. How could I look my fellow SOLDIERs in the eye and... talk of honor and achieving your dreams when I let someone die when I could have saved them?"_

_Sephiroth couldn't help but stare at the other SOLDIER. So bold and yet for once, Sephiroth did not find the insolence irritating, for it seemed the other SOLDIER was only doing it for his benefit. No one had ever done that for him before. __In addition the pleasing arrangments of the other SOLDIER's facial features made it easier to swallow his words. What was the word people tended to attribute to that sort of thing? Beautiful?_

"_No SOLDIER left behind right?" The auburn haired SOLDIER tilted his head at him smiling. Sephiroth snorted derisively. He did not need this person using the SOLDIER slogan against him. _

"_But if you jumped now while was talking to you, then I would be absolved from all guilt, because at least then I know I tried." The other SOLDIER said with a shrug. Coming to stand on the ledge, he looked down and whistled. "Sure is a long way down. What if you got it wrong and didn't die?"_

_Sephiroth mad no response either verbally or otherwise. But internally he felt a cold sense of dread at the thought of what Hojo would do to him if he was taken back alive after his attempted suicide._

_The other SOLDIERs face looked noticeably relieved at his hesitation. "Maybe you should sleep on it. Think it over again. Maybe you'll change your mind, because once you step off this roof you can't change your mind."_

_Sephiroth slowly shook his head; he could not deny the logic in that. _

"_Even if your path is predetermined with only one destination, there are always plenty of twists and off-roading along the way that you can't see just yet." The other SOLDIER said thoughtfully gazing at the stars. "And you can always strive to make it the best journey possible for yourself, and carve your own destiny and name with in it before reaching your destination."_

_Sephiroth turned his head to look at the other SOLDIER as if seeing him for the first time. He understood, but how? He understood the burden on his shoulders and the hurt it was causing him and yet didn't think him weak for it. He didn't think there were people who__ even could care that much._

_The other SOLDIER let out a relieved breath as Sephiroth stepped back from the ledge. As if to make sure that Sephiroth didn't suddenly change his mind the auburn haired SOLDIER closed the distance between them and stood between Sephiroth and the ledge. "See that wasn't so hard was it?" He said with a smile. "Now what do you say you go back in__side and show your SOLDIER toughness to those pompous assholes."_

"_Their opinions mean nothing to me." It was a lie for their opinions were what had driven him out here in the first place, but now their words seemed to matter to him less and less in comparison to the words of the auburn haired SOLDIER. Perhaps it was this growing importance of the other SOLDIER's presence that made Sephiroth bother to inquire to his identity. "What is your name?"_

"_Genesis! Genesis Rhapsodos," The other SOLDIER answered proudly. "And don't worry I already know your name."_

_Sephiroth nodded. "Genesis. I will remember it."_

_Genesis smiled and was about to walk away from the edge when a pigeon flew up into Genesis' face, throwing him off balance and tipping him back over the ledge. Without thinking Sephiroth lunged forward, grabbing Genesis' arm to stop him from falling over and pull him back. The momentum shifted sending Genesis right back into Sephiroth's arms. Fortunately the silver haired warrior was strong enough to keep them both upright__, but they suddenly found themselves nose to nose._

_Sephiroth felt his heart speed up at the situation. He had never held another person like this before; his arms wrapped them, their body pressed up against his. He didn't like being touched. Cold hands and instruments examining him were what he was used to. But Genesis felt so warm, and his eyes seemed to sparkle like the stars...so full of life and hopes and dreams, so different from the eyes Sephiroth was used to seeing leer at him, full of greed or madness._

_Meanwhile Genesis' heart was also pounding, with some nervousness, but also absolute delight. He'd followed Sephiroth through newspapers and reports on the television and every magazine he could get his hands __on. When he joined SOLDIER he give a 110% no! 200% to everything he did just to be good enough, high ranked enough, worthy enough, just to be near him, fight alongside him. And now, here he was in Sephiroth, SEPHIROTH's arms having just saved him from certain death. Oh, those eyes, those cat like eyes that looked like they had been cut from pure jade. They were staring blankly back at him, and yet behind that there was a touch of fear, uncertainty, something he had not expected to see in Sephiroth's eyes._

_It both surprised and confused Genesis. What did Sephiroth have to fear? Fear so much that he had taken it in to his head to attempt to kill himself? Maybe Angeal was right: maybe the pressure, the weight of being the ultimate hero, w__as too much for him. It made Genesis's heart sink a little to think that his hero was so unhappy. He wanted badly to lift that burden off Sephiroth's shoulders so then maybe the man he admired so much might know some happiness too. He knew it! He would become a hero, too! He would stick to that dream he'd had when he first joined SOLDIER. He would become a hero so that he could share the burden of heroism with Sephiroth, so that the silver haired angel would not have to bear it alone._

_Sephiroth continued to stand there entranced at Genesis and for just a moment he saw... something. Sympathy and de__termination... for him...but then he blinked and the moment was gone. Sephiroth let Genesis go and turned away. "I must get back inside before they suspect that I have done something to myself." He began to head back toward the stairwell, but stopped and cast one last look over his shoulder before fully disappearing inside again._

0000

It was a typical night at 7th Heaven: Tifa welcoming new patrons and joking around with her regulars while filling orders. This created the usual merry roar which was probably why Tifa didn't hear the sound of the door opening, or see the man entering. Otherwise she would have tossed him out straight off.

Atiliio was his name. He wasn't tall (only a few inches above Tifa's 5' 4"). His eyes were a sharp green, his skin was rough and sunburned, hands calloused from manual labor. Once, he'd been head of Sector 1's reactor, a darling boy of ShinRa. Now a laborer wherever he could find work to do it...

He waited deliberately till a stool at the bar had opened up and her back was turned, leery as their last meeting had ended... well, he knew what she could do.

Tifa turned around and felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach when her eyes fell on _him_. The drink she held nearly dropped from her hand, but she managed to hold on to it despite shaking fingers. She quickly collected herself, not wanting to give him the satisfaction that his very presence chilled her to the bone. It was not so much the man himself, but the bad memories attached to him and the fear that Cloud would find out.

"What can I get you?" she asked through a tight jaw, trying her damnedest to pretend all was well.

Atilio's smile and low voice were pure poison as he refused to back down, "Surely you remember what I like... Temptress. Oh, that's right, it's _Tifa_, isn't it?" He spoke louder now, "Kalm Fang with a twist."

Gripping her writing tablet with bone crushing force was the only thing keeping her from punching the man right then and there. "Of course, I'll get that right away, but I need some extra ingredients."

She made her way to the back room to get some ingredients she did not have at the counter and to cool off a little bit before she exploded.

Atilio's eyes were predatory, never leaving Tifa once she'd returned, boring holes into the back of her head as she mixed the drink then slapped it down in front of him. He enjoyed his first few sips, as Tifa stared at him.

"Fate's a funny thing isn't it...?"

"A barrel of laughs." She muttered.

"I was once a manager at Reactor One. Poised for greatness, to go above the plate. And you... you were one step above being some back-seat whore. And now the whore's a world a hero, and I'm slaving away for pittances."

That did it. Tifa slammed her fist into the counter in front of him. "If you're lower than dirt it's your own fault Atilio! And don't you flatter yourself by calling me that when you got no where with me and I threw you out on your ass!"

Atilio now got right in Tifa's face, grabbing her arm, "So you do remember my name. I'm so flattered! But, _Tifa_, you weren't complaining when we were on your pathetic excuse for a bed, my hand on your thigh, your tongue down my throat." Within a split second he had yanked her closer, forcing her her lips onto his. The whole bar fell into an absolutely shocked silence

Tifa froze, at first too shocked by the assault, then all the bad memories associated with him, with them, came crashing down on her like a ton of bricks, completely paralyzing her.

Just as suddenly as it began, the assault came to end with the unwanted lips being torn from Tifa's. The reason why became obvious in the form of a 5' 7" blond gripping the assaulter by the belt loops and the back of his shirt and dangling Atilio a good three inches off the ground over his yells, blue eyes promising death to the man who'd _DARED_ laid hands on Tifa.

"You alright?" He said, worried eyes resting on Tifa.

Still shell shocked Tifa could only nod.

Cloud calmly flipped Atilio so he was carrying the man sideways and head first, still by the belt loops and back of his shirt, and despite the wriggling and yelling, calmly marched the intruder head first out the door and tossed him outside into the dirt, warning him off again with a snarled, "Come here again, and I will _gut_ you. Understand?"

The other patrons at the bar remained silent for a moment after Cloud came back in, and then erupted in claps and cheers for Cloud.

Cloud looked a little bewildered at the crowd, but allowed himself a small bow to placate the patrons before making his way over to Tifa, who was beginning to come out of her shocked stupor, but visibly shaking. It surprised him to see her this affected; this was not the first time a patron "invaded her space", but usually it was Tifa herself who took care of the ass kicking and wiped her hands of the whole ordeal without a hair out of place.

He gently took Tifa into his arms and kissed her forehead. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head and pulled away a little. Her heart was wracked with guilt being in Cloud's arms after what had happened...what she'd done so carelessly in the past. She feared some of the filth and freshly risen bad memories might rub off on him. Gaia knew Cloud was burdened enough with bad memories on his own – he didn't need hers too. "I'm okay, really."

"Are you sure...?" He pressed, a little disappointed at his empty arms.

Tifa nodded solemnly keeping her eyes lowered. "Yeah, I have a job to do and you need to get some sleep. You had a long day too."

"I'm alright. I can get up a little later tomorrow," Cloud went back into the personal kitchen and returned with a stool. He then 'assumed the position' by taking a seat on the stool in a corner next to the bar. Not near enough that paying, rule-abiding customers would be intimidated, but close enough he could bounce anyone else who thought to give Tifa problems.

With a leaden step Tifa returned to her business and patrons, but her steps were not quite as heavy knowing Cloud was watching her back.

0000

Later, as night crawled into the early am, Sephiroth came downstairs. He had become a recluse for the day since returning from their road trip to Kalm and finding the Banora white sapling. His brain felt so jumbled and he always felt exhausted after an attack by Jenova.

When the place grew quiet and he was feeling a little more rested, he decided to head down and gather the receipts from the night and get to work on logging them and work on some end of the month stuff. Some good old fashion paperwork would help get his mind off the emotional things.

He found Tifa cleaning things up and grumbling incoherently to herself. "Do you need any help?"

Tifa, wiping down the tables and thrusting dirty glasses into a plastic tub, gave a shake of her head. As she went to grab a glass she used a little more force then necessary and missed the tub altogether, sending the glass to smash on the floor and sending glass bits everywhere.

"Damn it...! That's the third one tonight!" She growled, furious with herself for allowing that creep to get her this worked up. She stomped downstairs where they kept 7th Heaven's cleaning supplies, so she could grab the small broom and dustpan.

The waves of anger were coming off her like steam from a pot of boiling water and were bombarding Sephiroth's senses. He had heard a commotion coming from the bar earlier, but decided to leave the subject alone as Tifa seemed frustrated enough without him prying. Besides, there was a job to be finished, and he could not let a mess go unattended. He picked up the abandoned tub and began picking up the other glasses.

Tifa was just re-entering the bar with the dustpan, "Oh... you don't have to do that Sephiroth." Her smile was a grateful one, though.

Sephiroth shrugged nonchalantly. "It would be illogical and inefficient for me to stand and watch while you cleaned up the broken glass and the rest of the tables remained unkempt."

"Sorry, I'm usually faster then this, but..." Her swallow was audible.

"Are you ill?" Sephiroth tilted his head at her.

"No. Just shaken..." Tifa confessed, running a hand across her temples.

"Did I awaken some more bad memories?" He asked. "I assure you it was unintentional."

"No, actually for once it wasn't Nibelheim." Tifa took a breath, "Had a patron today. Knew me, from when I was new to Midgar."

Sephiroth picked up the final glasses and set the tub down before going over to her. "He brought up bad memories?"

Tifa rubbed her face, as if that could erase the memories, "I did some things... made compromises I'm not proud of. But it was what I had to do."

"What things?" He picked up the tub again and walked back to the sink in the bar. "Keep talking: I can hear very well."

Sephiroth grabbed a few paper towels and wet them. He came back over and set the wet paper towels over the broken glass.

This was how SOLDIERs generally discussed their inner feelings. One would pretend to do something or conduct busy work, but kept an open ear while the other SOLDIER talked out what was on his mind. You had the satisfaction of another person listening, but not the pressure of organizing your thoughts while they stared expectantly at you.

"I had nothing." She whispered, staring at the broom she was clutching "I woke up alone in a med unit in the slums... don't remember even getting there."

Sephiroth gently took the broom from her hands. "Were you in Sector Seven?"

"No, that came later. After I was released... I ended up in Sector Six. The nurses gave me clothes – had to burn my old ones that first night to stay warm – and a few gil."

Sephiroth begin sweeping scattered shards of glass into the pile of wet paper towels and then into the dust pan. "How long were you on the streets?"

"A few months. I sang on the street corners, ran errands for ladies... whatever it took to get the gil I needed to put food in my belly."

Sephiroth calmly swept the mass of paper towels and glass into the dustpan. "You said you had done some things you're not proud of. What were they?"

"A few months of living on the streets and I just... I just couldn't stand it any more. So, I became..." Oh how was she saying this to Sephiroth of all souls when she'd barely told CLOUD anything about it? "I was a dancer and singer at a Gentleman's Club near Wall Market. Those places, they don't ask about references for the management or what goes on with the girls, so l made a deal with the creep-manager. I got to keep most of my clothes on, and I'd occasionally 'liberate' some extra gil from the wealthier patrons." She sucked in a deep breathe. "I dated a bit, and brought guys back to my room once in a great while. Not for love, just.. stress relief."

Sephiroth dumped the contents of the dustpan into the garbage before nodding solemnly. "One does things to survive both physically and mentally, even if it is just for a few illusionary moments of pleasure." He let out a weary sigh remembering many nights after Genesis left him; he would try to relieve the "tension" in his body, by pretending it was Genesis' hands instead of his own. But it wasn't the same. "If for no other reason than to give you increments of illusionary strength to go on."

Tifa made an agreeing noise, "Three years after Nibelheim, I had a lapse in judgment. I bumped into a patron from the club. Cute, not a total perve, made me laugh for the first time in what felt like forever." Her lips twitched, "We got back to my room, and did a little fooling around. But I hit the brakes for going further, patron and all. He thought he could force 'further' on me... picked the wrong girl. I ended up with a few bruises, but he... well... let's just say there was no point in him coming to the club any more after that."

While she was talking, Sephiroth had gone back to the bar and filled a clean glass with water and brought it back for Tifa. "At least you stood up for yourself that time."

"Well... I am proud of that." And Tifa was. "But it's sad that it took something like that to wake me up; remind me I could still 'open a can of whoop-ass' as Cid would say."

"Sometimes, after experiencing something terrible, we fall into stupor where we are only half conscious of the world around us; we barely hear, see, smell, or feel anything. Only just enough to get us by." Sephiroth said soberly. "We go about the daily motions, but never really awake as if walking through an unending nightmare. It took something traumatic to put us in that state. Sometimes it takes something traumatic to bring us out of it."

"I thought you'd understand." Tifa murmured, her smile wobbly.

Without missing a beat, Sephiroth picked up the tub and made his way back over to the sink and began washing the glasses. "More than you know."

Tifa sat for a moment sipping her water, trying to get herself under a little bit more control.

After he finished washing the glasses, Sephiroth looked over at Tifa and saw her expression still remained sad and troubled. He racked his brain trying to think of something to cheer her up. She had been so kind and comforting to him in his troubled times, he could at least return the favor. He had one idea, but he wasn't sure he was ready to share it with anyone else. On the other hand, who better could he trust but the people who welcomed him into their family. "Would you like to see a hidden talent?"

Tifa looked up at him for a moment before nodding.

Sephiroth picked up a notepad and a pencil off the counter and began sketching out Tifa after about five minutes he'd finished and held it up for her to see.

Tifa grinned as she looked at the rendition of herself, "That is a hidden talent!" Then she got a even better look, "Wow!"

"Did I portray you accurately?"

"I'm impressed! I mean... this is _good!_"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Hm. Let me try something else." Sephiroth took pencil to paper again. This time he sketched out a beautiful pair of eyes purely from memory.

"Ooooh!" Tifa breathed, staring at the eyes.

"Yes, beautiful eyes..." Suddenly the silver hair SOLDIER let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. "They're no good..." He crumpled up the paper in his hand.

Tifa sat in surprise for a moment, before asking him, "Compared to other artworks... or the real things?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "There's no warmth in them... Artists can breath warmth and life into their pictures. I merely put pencil lines on a piece paper that happen to resemble his eyes. Beautiful but cold, just like his eyes then..." He trailed off as memories of Nibelheim threatened to bubble up in his head and he definitely did not need those right now.

He quickly switched subjects in and effort to deflect them away. "Hojo said I should learn every aspect of human anatomy; it would make me more efficient at killing. The best way was to study it, replicate it by detailed anatomical drawings so I would know every bone, muscle fiber, tendon ligament nerve and blood vessel. But he didn't teach me how to make it alive, they were just parts..."

"From everything I know of him... Hojo couldn't teach about being alive, period." Tifa said, "... was he the one who raised you?"

"Mostly, from when I was about five years old," Sephiroth said. "Since Dr. Gast disappeared or as I later found out was killed." A touch of sadness betrayed his stoic demeanor at the mention of Gast.

Tifa had to fight the urge to reach out and cover one of Sephiroth's hands, as she would with any friend, "Gaia... I can't even imagine."

"I suppose it is fitting since he might be my actual father," Sephiroth said with a defeated sigh.

"Who on Gaia would-" Tifa gave an involuntary shudder, "with _him_?" Then realizing who she was talking too, blushed, "Sorry."

Sephiroth shook his head. "My mother, Lucrecia Crescent apparently. I have often wondered the same thing. Maybe he was different back then. But any pride or love he had for me as a father, he gave up the minute he made me feel I was not human enough to love or be loved. It took me almost 22 years to realize that and just as I did... it all fell apart."

Tifa reached out her hand and brought it to rest right next to his... but still not covering. "What happened?"

"You don't want to know..." Sephiroth murmured.

"Maybe I do." Her voice was calm, "If it has something to do with... Nibelhiem and what happened there, I do. Please. I know it wasn't just what you found in that library that broke you. Not the man who walked into our town."

"I was going to be the successful experiment, the leader SOLDIER, the hero, crown jewel of ShinRa's creations: their hand made god." Sephiroth said bitterly. "A euphemism for puppet. Whether I wanted to be or not." Tifa nodded, the disgust burning in her belly.

"To err is human, in order to be a god I could not be human," Sephiroth explained stoically. "The mental and agility and strength tests weren't so bad, those were just physical trials. As hard as they were, at least I could control the outcome of my fate."

"Of course." Tifa then braced herself for ugly.

Sephiroth noticeably tensed and his hands began to tremble slightly. "But the immuno tests, the wound repair efficiency tests, building up my resistance to poisons and diseases so nothing would effect me, so I would never be sick or ill or hurt or weak in front of my admirers."

He sighed the tension releasing from his body and his shoulders slumped in a strange regret. "Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if he had been kinder about it, patted my head and hugged told me it would be all right... that it would make me stronger, so I would be protected down the road and just let me cry it out. But crying was a weakness. I was told that gods and SOLDIERs don't cry, that I was always meant for this to be strong...

And even when I finally entered SOLDIER ranks I was told allies and professional associates were all right and to be respectful and professional to my peer and superiors. But that friends and comrades were beneath me, that emotional attachments to others would only slow me down."

"Manure." Tifa scoffed

Sephiroth nodded solemnly. "I know that now, but I didn't then. When I was a child, anyone I did form any kind of emotional attachment to disappeared. Gast, some of the lab assistants that would sneak me candy when Hojo wasn't looking, some of the lab animals I played with..."

The hand slowly came to cover Sephiroth's in a gesture of comfort.

Sephiroth glanced at her hand on his but made no motion to remove it, and continued stoically. "There was one moment when I was 17, at ShinRa's winter solstice party when I heard people talking about me. It became also horribly clear when everyone spoke of me it was always with Hojo or Shinra's project attached to my name; never was it spoken individually. I was their puppet and nothing more." Tifa swallowed back tears, but frankly wasn't all that shocked.

Sephiroth removed his hand from under Tifa's and looked away from her, as if ashamed for what he was about to say, but could still trust her enough to hear it.

"I went to the roof top. There was no railing, only a small divider there, and more than 50 stories. If I aimed right, not even my enhanced skull would survive the fall. I was standing at the very edge when someone called out to me to stop."

Tifa nearly asked if this youngster had brilliant sea-eyes and spikey black hair... and was named Zack, but caught herself. Zack would not have been old enough to even join when Sephiroth, eight years his senior, was only 17.

And for the first time that night a smile crept a cross his face. "He had auburn hair and blue eyes..." Sephiroth trailed off as he picked picked up his pencil again.

Sephiroth fell silent as he worked on the drawing. After awhile he stopped and studied his creation. Another pair of eyes, but he didn't crumple it up, "I think I got it right this time."

For a moment, Tifa was breathless. "They're... stunning!"

"Yes they were," Sephiroth murmured, then rubbed his eyes. "I'm tired, I think I can sleep now."

"Yes, think I can, too." She gave Sephiroth's hand a gentle squeeze as he passed by, "Thank you... for telling me about Genesis."

"You're welcome. I wish you could have met him." Sephiroth said a sad but fond expression crossing his face as he continued.

"Me too." Tifa agreed.

As Sephiroth departed, Tifa looked harder at the sketch, a gnawing sensation of familiarity grasping at her, but she finally dismissed it and set the drawing back on the table. She should go to bed. Cloud would be asleep and wonderfully warm... but his nice warm body was as good as a glass of warm milk.

Or she could read one of the fashion magazines she kept stashed under the couch.

0000

Chica's Chatter: For Tifa's life between waking up in Midgar and meeting with Cloud again, I took some serious time and thought. She was 15, orphaned, well built, from a little podunk town on a different CONTINENT then Midgar that got dropped in the slums. The chances of her NOT ending up in a Gentlemen's Club is very very tiny, to my mind. And combined with when she goes to Don Corneo's in FFVII she seems to know EXACTLY how the girls dressed and acted.


	15. Kalm Fang Repost Due to replaced chapt

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_ I know this chapter is being reposted as a New chapter, this is because I found out an earlier chapter was missing from the story so I replaced it which meant I had to shift all of the other chapters down. The new chapter is called "Home Alone", it kind important in terms of showing the bonds beginning to form between the characters and the Sephiroth does have a heart at least where the children are concerned and it shows the bedtime story that is referenced in this chapter.  
_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta _SephirothxAerith_ for Betaing and all of her contributions_

000

Denzel practically leaped down the steps leading down from his school. He had been let out a half hour early today because of a teachers' meeting, so he had 30 blissful minutes extra to play before Tifa would expect him back home, and then it would be off to his room for homework. Sure he had to admit some of it was fun: he liked math and biology, but English/literature bored him to tears. Plus he had something special planned.

He was supposed to meet Rick and some of his other friends from back during his days as a scavenger in some of the wreckage of Midgar, something Tifa would not approve of, he was sure. Rick had been adopted by a family nearby and by fate's guidance ended up in class with Denzel. After some initial awkward silence, they managed to patch things up after a long talk during recess. Oddly enough, it had been Rick to come to him. His initial coldness when they had first seen each other again had gone completely. Denzel guessed some of the other kids that knew him had told Rick about his Geostigma infection, and the pity had softened him. Normally Denzel did not like pity, but he was just glad to have his friend back.

"Denzel!" A high pitched voice called from behind him and made him cringe. Marlene had followed him.

"I wanna play too! " she called catching up to him.

"No way! You're too little. Tifa and your dad would skewer me if anything happened to you. Go home Marlene!" he ordered trying his best to sound like Cloud.

"That's not fair!" she pouted.

"Life's not fair!" He snapped, quoting something he'd heard Tifa yell at Yuffie more then once, "Now go home!"

"Make me!" Marlene shot back undeterred.

Denzel immediately took an angry step towards Marlene, determined to see the girl home.

Marlene flashed a mischievous grin and took off running, but not in the direction of home. Instead she head in the opposite direction toward some of the city wreckage left by meteor for a little hide and seek. That would teach Denzel.

Marlene giggled a she dove through a small opening between two pieces of metal that she knew was too small for Denzel so he would have to go around to get to the clearing beyond.

She easily slipped through the opening and giggled even more when she heard Denzel call out "No fair!"

"Life ain't fair!" She called back imitating her dad more than Tifa.

She laughed even harder when she heard him let out a noise of frustration. She laughed until she turned around and came face to face with a set of gnashing fangs.

She _screamed._

Not far away Tifa was interrogating some children as to the whereabouts of Marlene and Denzel. She had hoped to surprise them, Marlene in particular since Barrett was in town, with a pick-up from school instead of them walking home.

The aforementioned brawny man was looking for his daughter amongst the groups if children milling about. Not far away Sephiroth was doing the same except choosing a less interactive approach and surveying the groups of youngsters with his keen eyes from where he stood.

Suddenly the silver haired warrior tensed as his ears picked up on the high pitched whine of a scream so far away and minute that any normal human would have missed it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tifa spotted a flash of silver. When she turned around, she saw said silver speeding away in the opposite direction. By now she knew when Sephiroth was alert, it was best to act now and ask questions later.

"Barrett! Come on!"

Unaware that help was on the way, Denzel grabbed the nearest available weapon, which was a nice heavy pipe, attacking the Kalm Fang that had wandered into the city and found Marlene, as it's teeth sank into her leg.

"GET OFF!" he yelled as Marlene cried his name and as the beast snarled, but didn't drop it's prize, either. Suddenly the beast froze for an instant then began to drag Marlene back towards where it came, forcing Denzel to drop his pipe and grab onto Marlene.

"Don't let go!" The frightened girl wailed at her only hope, feeling Denzel tighten his grip more on her, yelling his lungs out with everything he could think of to scare the beast, but also hopefully get the attention of help.

Sephiroth jumped atop a lone standing pillar and spotted his quarry in the clearing below. He jumped from one piece of wreckage to the other with such grace and speed the Kalm Fang did not sense his coming until too late. He kicked the Fang right in the side of it's chest, forcing the air out, which triggered it's mouth to open and release Marlene's leg, which, in return, allowed Denzel to pull her away. Sephiroth stood imposingly between the Kalm Fang and Marlene, and the creature seeming to realize it's potential meal had a guardian strong enough to fight back, it decided to cut it's losses and scampered away.

As soon was the beast was gone Sephiroth turned and knelt by Marlene. And in stark contrast to the violence he had just shown, he gently examined Marlene's leg; the flesh was torn and bleeding, but no bones seemed to be broken.

Though he was not a trained medical professional yet, he had seen enough wounds on battlefields and missions and knew enough anatomy and physiology to make an initial assessment of what to do until the real professionals arrived.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly found her little hands clinging to his shirt and her face buried in his chest. One of his hands hovered uncertainly over her, not quite certain which gesture to use. The only thing close to this situation was Angeal, after a beast attack, trying to pass off the pain of his shredded calf and broken tibia with a bitter laugh. Not a child sobbing against him and seeking his comfort.

He decided on what he had seen Cloud do when he had arrived home late from a delivery and Marlene was up from a nightmare. With his right hand, he gently patted Marlene's back and gave it a little rub.

"Are you injured anywhere else?" He asked keeping his voice calm and even, hoping it would keep her calm as well, like it did for wounded or frightened SOLDIERs.

The little girl was trying to form words despite all her shaking and sobbing as Denzel tried his best to soothe her, too. Finally she just lifted her arms to show him that they had been scraped, as well as a good deal of her knees, in Denzel's efforts to keep her from being dragged off, just as her father and Tifa showed up.

"Marlene!" Barrett cried, horrified and immediately made to go rushing to her side.

"Tifa! Barrett!" Denzel exclaimed and ran to Tifa, explaining the whole terrible story a million miles a minute, trying to hold back tears but sobbing all the same now that he did not have to be strong for Marlene anymore. Tifa enveloping him in a hug.

"We will handle the bite first." Sephiroth said, again keeping his voice even, hoping to calm Barrett more than Marlene now. "Tifa, have you any hand sanitizer?"

The was enough to shake Tifa awake again, instincts honed from over a year of battles and journeying and looking after a sick Denzel coming to the front. She pulled out hand sanitizer and a potion.

"I'll call Emergency!" She said as she passed the items to Sephiroth, clutching Denzel closer to her.

Sephiroth carefully transferred Marlene into Barrett's arms, to free up his hands. He pulled off his jacket and began ripping into strips as a makeshift bandage. He soaked them in the hand sanitizer and potion to help begin the healing process and keep the wound from becoming infect.

"Marlene, this is going to sting but it will help keep you from becoming sick," he said bluntly but gently, and began wrapping the made bandages tightly around her leg. Marlene braced herself against Barrett and squeezed her eyes shut, all too familiar with the stuff Tifa sprayed on their cuts. But she also nodded, trusting Sephiroth.

Marlene let out a whimper when the bandages touched the wound, but didn't wiggle around or try to get away. She clung tighter to Barrett who rubbed her back and did his best to distract her from the pain he knew must be settling in with his soft words and by keeping her warm so that she didn't go into shock, as well.

"Come, let's get her back to the main road, make it easier for the paramedics to find us." Sephiroth said upon finishing. Barrett rose, keeping his vest over his daughter, lifting Marlene up and followed Sephiroth with Tifa and Denzel right behind them. Tifa was letting the dispatch for the Ambulance know where to find them.

They made their way carefully back to the main road. Tifa kept a still shaken Denzel close to her as they climbed back up through the wreckage, and Barrett, held tightly to Marlene to keep her from being jostled while he jumped, surprisingly nimble, from one piece of wreckage to the other until he was out of the clearing.

Sephiroth, being the quickest and not laden with a child ran ahead to the main road to flag down the ambulance should it arrive faster than expected. Not one minute later the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics carefully laid her on a stretcher and began preparations for an IV. Marlene kept one of her little hands clenched around Barrett's, but then reached out toward Sephiroth with the other. The Silver haired man came as close as he could and took her hand.

"I knew you were the dragon." She said softly, smiling.

Sephiroth blinked, tilting his head a little confused, but then remembered the story he had once read to her, of the scary dragon with a good heart who befriended a little girl. He gave her a calm smile back. "Your dragon is watching over you."

However the time came for the paramedics to load Marlene into the ambulance, and there was only room for Barrett to travel in.

"Hey Sephiroth." Barrett called as Marlene was loaded into the ambulance and they prepared to close the ambulance doors.

"Hm?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"Ya know... you just might make one hell-of-a nurse yet." He grinned as the door slammed shut.

000

_Vega: And the audience lets out a unanimous "awwwwwwwwwwwww!"_

_Chica: *giggles*_


	16. One Small Step One Giant Leap

_**Author's note:** This is the final chapter of "Try,Try Again" you can check out the sequel called "If at First You Don't Succeed". You can find it here:_

_h t t p : / / w w w . f a n f i c t i o n . n e t / s / 7 2 0 8 5 9 1 / 1 / (removes spaces)_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to SquareEnix, we just brought them out to play._

_Big thank you to our beta _SephirothxAerith_ for Betaing and all of her contributions_

000

Sephiroth ran his fingers down the smooth steel of a tall metal locker. He always did this when he was feeling uncertain or apprehensive about his situation or, even more so, his future. It was not the metal locker that he sought comfort in, but the object that lay behind its locked metal doors.

Masamune...

In the many months since his inanimate companion had been confiscated as a safety measure by Cloud, he often paid unseen visits to it's cell, seeking the comfort of its familiarity, to help him keep his jumbled nerves steady and calm in this new and strange existence he had found himself placed in.

Bereft of his beloved Songbird, sheltered by people who had every right to hate him, and acting as the planet's personal containment unit for his alien mother, he always longed to hold the one thing that had always remained constantly by his side since he was a child.

However, he would not betray the boundary placed on the door in the shape of a padlock, which was more symbolic than anything else. He respected his hosts far to much now to do that.

Cloud observed Sephiroth from the door in silence for a while. He'd seen this before... like a child with a favorite toy put just out of reach. Unlike a child though, Sephiroth knew how to pick a lock easily, and certainly possessed the strength to crush one if he truly wished to. Yet, the man had not, merely contenting himself with Masamune's whereabouts.

When Cloud had taken the sword, it was initially a security thing... but at some point, without any of them realizing it, had also turned into a test. A test to see if Sephiroth could (and would) accept boundaries others placed on him and to prove that he was truly dedicated to being different from before. Thus far, he'd passed wonderfully well...better then that, all things considered.

Cloud had also noticed a pattern: Sephiroth usually showed up near Masamune when he was troubled, like after he had seen the banora white tree on the cliff and after the first attack Jenova made on his mind. Perhaps Masamune was more than a mere weapon, but sort of a security blanket Sephiroth clung to. It was one thing that had remained unchanged from the happier times that had once been.

Now, Cloud stood at a cross roads. He could continue to test Sephiroth this way (hardly fair and just a tad pointless) or allow Sephiroth to go to the next, critical, part of the test, and entrust the sword back to it's owner.

Cloud cleared his throat to make his presence known.

Sephiroth had heard Cloud's approach even before the blond had officially made himself known so he was not startled by the sudden sound. Without turning around, Sephiroth let out a breath before murmuring stoically. "Just paying a visit."

"I see that." A moment of semi-comfortable silence, "Nervous?"

"I have some apprehension about tomorrow." Sephiroth said simply. Tomorrow he would begin his RN training. He always felt apprehensive about new situations, mainly the unknown variables that lay down the path before him, and the unpredictability of those variables. He felt this even before missions and battles in SOLDIER. And yet on the flip side, it was the unpredictability in a battle and the fast thinking that it required that he relished when actually immersed in the new situation itself. However, this "night before" syndrome always had his nerves twisting in knots as his mind went over every possible scenario and calculated possible solutions. Even then there were always factors that he knew he could not foresee, and that always troubled him.

"We could work off some of that energy with a match. We have enough daylight." Tifa was downstairs with the kids, and Marlene was due to return to school tomorrow after fully recovering from her injuries.

"It would help clear my head." Sephiroth nodded, finally turning around. It was true: a good spar, some heavy physical exertion would help calm his nerves by releasing the terrible tension that was winding them up.

"Good. Only let's do something extra special for this occasion." Cloud then walked over to the locker, pulled out the key and unlocked it. He gently pulled Masamune out with all the care and respect he showed First Tsurugi, before offering it to Sephiroth.

A genuine look of shock played across Sephiroth's features as he stared at his sword in Cloud's hand. Was the other man serious? Or was it just another test of his humanity? His mind quickly calculated a strategy to bridge both scenarios. Instead of just grabbing Masamune from Cloud's hand like he wanted to do, he took the more diplomatic approach and held out his hand for Cloud to place Masamune in.

Cloud, with barely a moment's hesitation to his pride, gently lowered the sword into it's owner's hands.

"How's it feel?" Cloud asked, trying not to think too hard about this.

Sephiroth unsheathed the mighty sword and finally looked upon Masamune for the first time in almost a year. He carefully examined the blade like a parent checking a child for wounds. The surface was unblemished and shimmered as he always remembered. "You've taken good care of it," he murmured quietly.

Cloud didn't show it, but the morsel of praise sent a warmth of pride through him.

"So, how are we going to sneak out this time?" Sephiroth asked as he re-sheathed Masamune.

"Out the window," Cloud told him, not even batting an eye, "If Yuffie can do it..."

"And what shall our story be if she catches us coming back with this?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow motioning to Masamune.

"... She DOESN'T catch us."

"Understood." Sephiroth nodded.

000

And a good spar it was too, lasting just under an hour and succeeding (mostly) in what the participants needed: namely taking the edge off their nervous energies.

However, Cloud could not completely brush away the feeling of fear when First Tsuguri sung with Masamune as they clashed. The familiar song sent chills down his spine as it brought back frighteningly vivid memories of his last clash with the mighty sword during the attempted reunion.

Adding to his apprehension was the fact that when he fought the amalgamation of Jenova and Sephiroth's fractured soul, that puppet had been arrogant and relied on his strength and speed to merely overwhelm Cloud.

The Sephiroth he fought now was cool headed and calculating. Every step was measured, every strike timed and sure, and Cloud was finding it difficult to keep up. He could almost see the wheels in Sephiroth's head turning every time he looked into the man's eyes. They were analyzing his every move, his every attack, no doubt looking for weaknesses and strategizing how to exploit those weaknesses the next time the attack was used. This was not the Calamity's child; this was the revered General of SOLDIER

It made Cloud wonder if he had faced this Sephiroth in that fight for the planet a few years ago, if he might not have won.

And yet Cloud had not felt the adrenaline run so deliciously through his veins in a long time. The song of swords always did this to him, and in this fight he did not have the fate of the world on his shoulders. He could just enjoy this good exercise like anyone else.

However, despite the great exercise, it didn't stop Cloud, hours later, from laying awake in bed, long after the other residents of 7th Heaven were asleep. Snuggling Tifa against his body like his old teddy bear, Mr. Rags (because that was what his mother had made the squishy smiling bear from), trying to drift off. It irked the man, because he felt like a hypocrite. He'd handed over the sword with all outward trust, but laid awake wondering, hoping he'd made the right call.

_Of course I did. He'll be fine..._

_**This could go so, so bad...**_

_Shut up! _With that order to his subconscious, Cloud snuggled Tifa even further to himself, smiling a little as she let out a content sound, before forcing his eyes to close.

000

_Sephiroth stood in the doorway, dressed once again in the armor and black leather of SOLDIER's general and monster. He slipped into the room as silent as death. In the dim blue light of the digital clock, his very shadow crawled across the walls like black claws reaching down to the bed where his nemesis slept. He loomed over the sleeping Cloud, his great black wing unfurled like the dark angel he was. He raised Masamune and in much the same way he'd slain Aerith so long ago, he brought the shimmering blade down through Cloud's heart._

Cloud's eyes flew open before he shot up in bed, breathing in quick gasps, hand flying straight to his heart. Catching his breathe, his conscious registered everything was fine. Fingers brushing his shoulder made him turn to see Tifa had been jolted awake too.

"Cloud?" She asked after a minute, her eyes searching his.

"A nightmare... just a nightmare..." Cloud mumbled to reassure them both. Tifa leaned against him and allowed him to squish her close before she gently pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"We're all okay, Chocobo," she murmured to reassure him. But Cloud knew what he'd really have to do... to fully put his mind at ease.

"I think I'm going to make myself some warm milk," he told her, flipping the covers off himself and began getting out of bad.

"I can keep you company," Tifa offered and started to get out of bed, too, despite being rather exhausted from a busy day.

"No-no Teef, you just got to bed an hour ago. Go back to sleep," he encouraged.

"Are you sure?" Tifa asked, though she was rather tired, "I don't mind."

"Go back to sleep Teef," Cloud told her firmly, snatching a quick kiss before she snuggled back under the covers and was back to sleep before Cloud had slipped out of their room, quietly as possible.

Once out of his room, rather then downstairs, Cloud crept down the hallway on the well worn path to his office, and quietly as possible opened the door...

Meanwhile Sephiroth slept rather peacefully curled around his sheathed sword as if it were a teddy bear. The night before he left for a mission and every time he went to sleep during a mission he slept with the sword both for protection and to ease his troubled mind. While beginning the new program tomorrow was not so life threatening as a SOLDIER mission, the old habit of taking Masamune to bed calmed his nerves considerably.

Cloud, peaking in at the sight, found it very difficult not to laugh or move too much. So it seemed that he wasn't the only one in need of a teddy bear... it was an enduring and somewhat surprising aspect to the legend...

Sephiroth's senses picked up on Cloud's energy waves and it woke him. "Cloud...?"

"Sorry," Cloud whispered, mind racing to cover, "Thought I heard something in here." He made to shut the door and thus slip away with his dignity intact.

Sephiroth blinked a few times before shrugging and settling his head back down to return to sleep. He was going to need all he could get.

0000

Sephiroth paid Cloud's midnight visit little mind the following morning, when the kids greeted him with great peels of excitement, much more then their first day of school. Tifa got them distracted with cereal and making sure they had their things together, then surprised Sephiroth by offering to drive him to school along with the kids.

Finally, Tifa managed to usher everyone into the truck and get going before the kids were late. After dropping off the exuberant youngsters, Tifa turned down the road to head toward the place where Sephiroth would be receiving his instruction.

"Excited?" she asked, glancing back at him in the rear view mirror. Denzel had called "shotgun" first so Sephiroth and Marlene ended up in the back seats.

"Eager." Sephiroth answered simply.

"Yeah?" Tifa asked with a grin, remembering how much she'd enjoyed her classes while getting licensed to be a bar-tender, "Which one has you the most eager?"

"Wound care." He hoped the sight of something familiar from the battlefield would help satisfy the blood lusty half of himself, even if it was to heal instead of to hack. Gore was gore, pain was pain, no matter how it was inflicted.

"Oh?"

"Yes, it will be a very different thing to heal the wounds instead of... creating them. " Sephiroth said softly, the image of himself slashing Tifa with Masamune so long ago flashing briefly though his memory.

Tifa made a non-committal noise, remembering just as vividly as Sephiroth the sword, and choose to back away from the land-mind,

After an uneasy silence. Sephiroth finally spoke. "Are you sure you are all right with Cloud giving Masamune back to me?"

"So far, so good. But then... I haven't seen it yet. Felt okay, last night when Cloud told me."

"I will keep it hidden from you then." Sephiroth said firmly.

Tifa let out a frustrated sound before quickly pulling over and switching off the truck's engine, then faced Sephiroth directly, "Don't hide Masamune. Cloud did stuff like that, after.. Zack, to protect himself and everyone else. And it always ended creating more hurt then it prevented. I appreciate the respect and sensitivity you're trying to show... but I'm tougher then I look."

Sephiroth raised a curious eyebrow at her. "What would you have me do then? We are getting along well. I do not want to drive a wedge between us so to speak."

Tifa thought that one over for a minute, "I just need to get desensitized to it; separate the sword from what it did that night. Like I have... with you."

Sephiroth shook his head and looked pensively out the window. "I can't get rid of it; when I was younger, it was the closest thing I had to a teddy bear."

"And I'm not asking you to! I just need time like I did when you first started living with us. Eventually Masamune will become just... Masamune."

Sephiroth looked back at her and gave her a formal nod.** "**I understand."

"Good." she then started the engine, and eased back into traffic, "Just no swords at the breakfast table please!"

"Agreed." Sephiroth smirked.

"So... a teddy bear huh?"

Sephiroth let out a breath wishing he had not used that term before. "Hojo did not think a real teddy bear or stuffed toys of any kind were appropriate"

"... so you made do with what he allowed. I know I'm not the first person to ask this but... what in the name of all Shackti's arms was _wrong _with him?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "He wanted me to grow up fast, no feelings or emotional attachments to anything. However, he did not realize a human being could form the same kind of a attachment to a sword."

"Mmm... Hojo didn't really seem to understand anything about Humans... but I guess in this case, it was lucky for you, sort-of-speak."

"I always felt safe with it at my side," a fond looked softened Sephiroth's eyes for a moment, before they hardened again with an old resentment. "Sometimes it was the only time I felt safe."

"That I most definitely understand, and I won't take that away from you."

Slowly Sephiroth managed a small honestly grateful smile at her.

Finally, Tifa decided to get off the subject, though it was rather cleansing to discuss these things with Sephiroth, but right now it was the future, not the past, that they ought to focus on. "Got all your books and supplies?"

Sephiroth nodded. "Everything that was on the list, and a few extra supplies..." After a pause he let out a breath. "What if I cannot do this..?"

Claret eyes flicked to Sephiroth for a moment, and Tifa smiled as she thought _so much alike._

"Why wouldn't you be able to do it?"

"I don't know...perhaps I do not have the proper temperament. If I have an attack, what if I do something wrong and someone dies because of it?" Sephiroth said verbally stating the bad scenarios he had been going over in his head the previous night.

"I wouldn't have thought you had the temperament for kids, but look how well you handle Denzel and Marlene!" She quickly took another turn towards the local college, "As for an attack... well all you can do is excuse yourself and try to get it under control." She let out a sigh and acknowledged, "That last one... that's a tricky one. Not sure what I can tell you besides 'train hard and keep your eyes open'. Anyway, I don't think they'll be hitting you with that hard life-endangering stuff right off the bat"

"Yes, I must remember that this is not SOLDIER trial by fire." Sephiroth said with a soft laugh, remembering watching Angeal and Genesis's first real combat simulation as SOLDIERs. It wasn't pretty...

When they finally pulled up to the school, Sephiroth let out a deep breath before stepping out of the truck. He went over to the driver's side window for a final good-bye. "You did not have to drive me. I would have been fine walking."

"I had to drop the kids off anyway, and it's a gorgeous fall day! Besides," Here she laughed, "I'm making up for not being able to take the kids to school their first day."

"Ah, so my first day will have to suffice."

"Working for me so far." Tifa smiled and they lapsed into a bit of silence before she lowly reminded him, "Worst comes to worst... if it doesn't work out, 7th Heaven and Strife Delivery Service aren't going anywhere; you've got us til you figure something else out."

Despite taking comfort in her words, Sephiroth remained serious. "I do not know how I can ever truly thank you."

"Hey, I'm good at getting broody swordsmen back into life." Tifa joked, before turning serious herself, "I've been thinking about this ever since AVALANCHE came here. Without you, both halves of you, I might still be stuck in Nibelhiem, guiding tourists in those _ridiculous_ clothes!" her chuckle held a hint of sadness and strain, "Nibelhiem never happening might give me my father back... but I wouldn't have necessarily been happy."

"Yes, fate is strange in its ways... If it were not for Nibelheim I would still be ShinRa's prized slave," Sephiroth said darkly. "And Hojo's pet project."

Tifa shuddered, "Now that's something I wouldn't wish on even President ShinRa." A brief pause, "Hojo got his in the end anyway."

"Too bad it was not sooner rather than later." Tifa remained silent, after all she'd never been subjected to Hojo the way Vincent, Sephiroth, Aerith, Red XIII, Zack and Cloud had.

"Perhaps Nibelheim only hastened what was inevitable," Sephiroth said suddenly looking distant. "ShinRa could not leave Genesis running around alive, after several failed attempts they would have forced me to dispatch him personally and then I would have gone mad."

"And I might've been forced to leave Nibelhiem... Father never would've accepted me and Cloud, would've forced me into a choice. Guess who would've won?"

"Strife." Sephiroth answered without a moment's hesitation.

"My hero." Tifa affirmed, her face lighting up at the mention of Cloud.

Even though it seemed like a meager show of gratitude after all they had done for him, Sephiroth remembered Angeal and Zack's words about expressing your feelings no matter how inconsequential they seemed. Sometimes people just needed to hear it out loud. "Thank you... For everything."

Tifa handed him the lunch she'd packed, chalked full of good stuff she knew he liked but also a nice treat (a caramel apple) at the VERY bottom she and the kids had made for him last night, "Hey... no trouble. Have a good first day, learn a lot!"

"I will." Sephiroth waved before turning to face the school that would be the next step toward his new future.

Fin.

000


End file.
